Our 6th And 7th Year
by HP4EverLuver
Summary: Lily hates James. James loves Lily. How did this unlikely pair become the famous parents of Harry James Potter? Follow them through thier 6th and 7th years as they grow up through the challenges ahead of them. Please read! I'm bad at summarys.
1. First Day Flashbacks, Kisses, and Whores

A girl with long, bright, red hair and astonishing emerald green eyes, pushed her trunk across platform 9 ¾. She blew her red bangs out of her eyes and watched them fall right back into place. _**'Why do I keep these stupid bangs when I hate them so much?'**_ She thought as she glared at them. Just then a tall, muscular guy with dark, brown hair she knew was in Ravenclaw walked by. "Hey Lily. Love the bangs." She grinned as he winked at her. _**'That's one reason.**_' She thought. "Lillian Alexandria Evans!" Lily turned around and saw her best friend of six years, Danielle Michelle Carlson, running towards her at pretty good speed, considering she was elbowing her way through tons of people rushing to get on the Hogwarts Express.

Dani! Stop!" Lily yelled but it was too late. Dani ran into Lily and knocked them both to the ground. Dani giggled as she pulled Lily up.

"Sorry, Lils. I see you took my advice and didn't cut your bangs." Dani said as Lily dusted herself off. Dani had waist-length black hair with red streaks in it, and of course bangs that fell into her brown eyes. Lily had finally caught up to Dani in the height division. The year before, Dani had been 4 inches taller then her. Now, Lily stood tall at 5'9, with Dani at 5'10. Both of the sixteen year old girls were rather skinny, but each weighed 115 ponds. Dani stayed in shape because she was one of the beaters on the Gryffindor House Qudditich Team at Hogwarts. Lily just had a high metabolism. Dani started to drag Lily's trunk on the train, with Lily trailing behind her. As they searched for Dani's compartment, Lily thought back to her first time on the platform.

_**An 11 year old Lily Evans stared with her mouth wide open. She turned around and touched the solid brick wall she had just walked through. She turned back around and looked at the giant red and black train labeled **_**The Hogwarts Express**_**. Lily pinched herself for what had to be the 1 millionth time in the past 2 minutes. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a long, thin piece of wood she had bought a couple of days ago. She twirled it around in her fingers, when it slipped out of her grip and rolled away. She chased after it, but got a little sidetracked because of all the kids screaming and running by. When she finally got through, she had to get down on her hands and knees and look for it. She saw it and just as she touched it, another hand grabbed it and a head smacked hers. "OW!" They both yelled. Lily looked up to see a girl about her age with dark, caramel skin.**_

"_**Sorry. I thought that was my wand, but looking closely, it's not." The girl said as she helped Lily to her feet. "What's your name?" She asked while smiling. Lily couldn't help but smile in return. **_

"_**I'm Lily. And you?" The girl opened her mouth to respond when, "DANIELLE!" Lily jumped while the girl winced.**_

"_**Danielle, there you are! You forgot your wand." A man and a woman appeared behind Lily. Once again, the girl who Lily assumed was Danielle once again winced at the sound of her name. **_

"_**Mom, dad, how many times do I have to tell you? My name is Dani. D-a-n-i." The man and the woman shook their heads, but smiled down at their daughter. Lily guessed that by their accents that they were from Britain and somewhere else. **_

"_**Fine sweetie. Your name is Dani. Now aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" They said while smiling at Lily.**_

"_**Dad, mum, this is my new friend Lily. Lily, these are my parents, Waken and Miranda Carlson." Dani replied.**_

"_**Nice to meet you Lily." Waken said as he kissed her hand. Miranda checked her watch, and pushed the girls forward. **_

"_**Hurry up, or you'll miss the train." Dani and Lily got Lily's trunk and pulled it on the train. "Have a good year Dani!" Her mom yelled over the train.**_

"_**Yeah, and stay out of trouble!" Her father added. Dani grinned but didn't answer. The girl's dragged Lily's trunk until they reached Dani's compartment.**_

"_**Hey Dani?"**_

"_**Yeah?" Dani said as she concentrated on something.**_

"_**Where are you from? You've got an odd accent." Lily commented.**_

"_**Well, I was born here in Britain, but my parents and I moved to the States when I was 2. When I was 4, we moved back here to London." When Dani finished, she looked under the seats. When she stood up again, her eyes were big and fearful. **_

"_**What?" Lily asked knowing something was wrong.**_

"_**I can't find Mike." Lily arched an eyebrow.**_

"_**And Mike would be…"For 15 seconds, Dani looked anywhere but at Lily**_

"_**Now Lily, don't overreact, but he's my anaconda." Lily stared at her for 30 seconds to make sure she wasn't joking. When she was sure, she let out a blood curling scream and jumped on the seat. "Lily, remember when I said not to overreact? This would be classified as overreacting." Lily either didn't hear her, or choose to ignore her.**_

"_**You lost a giant snake on the train?!" Lily yelled as she looked around on the floor. Dani placed her hands on her undeveloped hips and glared up at Lily through her bangs.**_

"_**Hey! He's not that big! He's only 7 feet long now! And besides, I didn't lose him." Just then, a girl screamed.**_

"_**SNAKE!"**_

"_**I just found him." Dani said as she raced out into the hall. Reluctantly, Lily jumped off the seat and went after thinking,**_

"_**What an interesting first year this will be." And she didn't know how right she was.**_

"God Lily, come back to Earth!"" Dani yelled as she stared into her friend's glazed green eyes. "Damn!" Dani yelled as she paced. She was really beginning to worry about her friend. She had been in the same trance like state since they got on the train.

The compartment door slid open and in walked James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, aka The Marauders. James was leaning against the doorframe, his perfectly messy jet-black hair falling into his glasses-covered, Hazel eyes as he stood tall at 6'3. His muscles flexed as he crossed his arms and put on a lopsided grin only he could pull off. He and Sirius were tied for Hogwarts #1 Hottie in the guys and each had their own fan club. Sirius, unlike James, had straight black hair that stopped at his shoulders and grey eyes that held dark secrets, and a very dark past. He was just a bit taller then James, reaching 6'4. He had a certain air about him that clearly said, _**'I'm a sex god. Bow at my feet.'**_ Remus Lupin was the lankiest of the group being 6'5. The sixteen year old looked like he had just fought a bloody war rather then spent the past 2 months at home. Already small gray hairs were beginning to pop out from behind his light brown hair. Peter Pettigrew was the odd ball of the Marauders. His height was 6 feet, and he was rather chubby with sandy blonde hair and watery blue eyes. He was constantly jumpy and gave off the aroma of a rat. Sirius winked at Dani.

"I saw you getting dressed this morning. Have I told you how hot you are?" Dani rolled her eyes, but her heart began to quicken like it usually did whenever Sirius got near her. Dani had had a crush on Sirius since Second Year. And since they had the same classes, and he spent his breaks at James' house which was next door, she obviously saw more of him then she could handle. James looked at Lily who was sitting down on the seat, still in a glazed trance. He got down on his knee and stroked her cheek.

"Lily are you okay?" He asked.

"No matter what I do, she won't snap out of it!" Dani exclaimed. "I've tried everything! I've yelled, I've screamed, I've shaken her, I've…"

"_**I'll have you expelled for this! You'll leave the blasted school before you even start!" a livid Fifth Year said. "You're just like you're snake. You ain't worth shit!" Bellatrix yelled as Mike curled himself around Dani's shoulders. Mike lifted his head, stuck out his tongue, and hissed. Dani turned her head towards him and spoke in Parseltongue. Bellatrix's pale face grew even paler. "You can speak to it? What did you say?" Bella said as she pointed her pony finger at Dani. Dani rolled her eyes.**_

"_**Yes, I'm a Parselmouth. And for all you know, I could have told him to kill you in your sleep. So I wouldn't mess with me if I were you." Bellatrix was about to say something else, when Mike let out an even louder hiss. Bella's lips snapped shut and she walked away. Dani turned around to face a shocked Lily.**_

"_**Who was that, what's a Parseltongue and Parselmouth, and why does she hate you?" Lily asked as they walked own the hall. Dani sighed.**_

"_**That was Bellatrix Black. And Parseltongue means snake language. It's a very rare talent because few witches and wizards can do it, and it's also associated with the Dark Arts. And Bella hates me because, well she's a Black and they hate anybody who's, what are their words exactly? 'A mudblood lover.' Lily's eyebrows disappeared into her bangs showing she didn't understand. Dani rolled her eyes playfully. "You are definitely muggleborn. A mudblood lover is someone who associates with mudbloods. And a mudblood is someone who has non-magical parents, or is muggleborn." **_

_**They opened the compartment door to find four boys inside laughing and joking. One had messy black hair that stood in every direction and warm hazel eyes hidden behind glasses. One had shoulder-length straight black hair and Smokey eyes. Another had light sandy hair and looked paler than usual. And one was chubby and trying to hide in a corner. No one spoke till Dani broke the silence.**_

"_**James?" The boy with messy black hair spoke.**_

"_**Danielle?" Dani winced at the use of her full name, but grinned anyway.**_

"_**James!"**_

"_**Dani!" James grinned, stood up, and opened his arms. Dani ran into them without a second's hesitation. Lily hung back and watched. "I can't believe you're here tomboy." James said into her hair as he rubbed her back. Dani grinned as she gently tugged on his black locks.**_

"_**You better believe it Jamie." There was a cough from behind them. They turned to see it was the boy with straight black hair and grey eyes. **_

"_**I don't mean to break up this Kodak Moment James, but who is your hot friend, and who is her hot friend?" Sirius flashed a dazzling white smile at Lily, causing her to blush a deeper red then her hair. Dani went over to Lily and pulled her away from the corner she had been shrinking against and walked back to James.**_

"_**James, this is my new friend Lily Evans. Lily, this is my best friend and next door neighbor since I was 4, James Michael Potter." Dani said as she subconsciously leaned against James. **_

"_**Dani, Lily, these are my new friends Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew." He said while pointing to each in turn. "Guys, this is Lily and my own personal tomboy, Danielle Michelle Carlson," Dani winced. "Who prefers to have her first name sound like a guy's no matter how many times I tell her she's a Girl!" Dani elbowed him in his stomach and he groaned loudly. "And if I kept quiet once and a while, I'd have fewer bruises on my stomach." He sad as he straightened up. Dani giggled as James wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down into his lap. "Ow!" James yelled when he sat down causing Dani to jump up. He smirked. "Just kidding."**_

_**Dani slapped him before returning to his lap. Lily felt quite uncomfortable being in the room, which didn't go unnoticed by Dani. "Lily don't be shy. Take a seat. Sirius move over." Dani said. Sirius stared at her and crossed his arms.**_

"_**Make me." Dani stared right back.**_

"_**Fine." Dani turned to face James, put her hands on his chest, and gave him her award-winning puppy dog pout. "James," she said while touching his forehead with hers and entwining their bangs. "Please make Sirius move." James looked at Sirius with pleading eyes. **_

"_**Man. Come on." Sirius shook his head violently like a dog trying to get rid of excess water. Lily and Remus watched in amusement, while Peter stared into space. **_

"_**No, no way. Not gonna happen!" Sirius said. James looked back at Dani.**_

"_**Jamie!" Dani said while running a hand through his hair. James looked back and forth between the guy next to him and the pretty girl in his lap, and looked oh so confused. He was about to speak, when Dani whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened, and with one arm around Dani's waist, he pushed Sirius off the seat and onto the floor. **_

"_**Have a seat Lily." Dani smirked.**_

"_**So besides being a Parseltongue and having the gift of persuasion," Lily said while looking at Sirius who was on the floor rubbing his bum. "What other special abilities do you have other then being a witch?" James decided to answer for her.**_

"_**Dani is a Temperantrus. That means when her temper gets out of hand, she could kill you with a simple look. But the worst part is Temperantrus' tempers will go off with a single insult. Trust me. I've know her for over 7 years. And so far she's sent me to St. Mungo's twice. Once caused she tried to kill me in my sleep, and once cause, well let's just say it's what she whispered in my ear, and I'll be lucky if I have children." Everyone laughed including Peter, though he was a little late. They all sat in comfortable silence the rest of the way to Hogwarts. The only that ran through Lily's mind was, 'New friends, new schools, how bad can it be?' **_

Do you honestly think that's going to work, or is this for your own personal gain?" Dani asked James who was still kneeling so he was eye level with Lily.

"49 gonna work, 51 my own personal gain." James said. Dani shook her head.

"I'm amazed you can say that with a straight face." Sirius arched an eyebrow.

"Why? I'm not." Remus snorted from behind his book.

"Coming from the guy who nailed 6 girls at a school dance." Remus looked confused for a second. "How'd you do that again?" Dani interrupted before Sirius could answer.

"Please discuss this when I'm not here. Now can we get back to Lily? Remus, should he do it?" Remus shook his head.

"I don't want to get in this."

"Peter?"

"What?" Dani rolled her eyes.

"Aren't you gonna ask me?" Sirius questioned. Dani crossed her arms and gave him a look. "Well anyway, I think he should do it." Dani opened the compartment door.

"When she comes out of this trance Sirius, she's gonna kill you and me. So be prepared to run." She turned back to James. "You may proceed."

James looked as if Christmas had come early. He turned back to Lily and placed a strand of red hair behind her ear. He then leaned in, closed his eyes, and gently touched Lily's lips with his. It was the best moment of James' life. He had finally kissed the girl he had fantasized about since he met her on the train. Unfortunately for him, Lily took that moment to come out of her trance. As soon as Dani saw her eyes widen, she grabbed Sirius and ran. Lily pulled away from James with her mouth open. James knew Lily was going to slap him when she raised her hand. Before it made contact with his face, he grabbed it.

"Lily, I personally don't think you should hit me. I mean Dani and Sirius said I could. Well, I mean Sirius shouldn't have meant anything, but…" Lily's ears had stopped working after he said Dani's name. She began to shake with anger, and if she were a Temperantrus, Sirius and Dani would be dead. Remus pointed toward the open compartment door.

"They went that way." Lily ran out and looked down the hall. Since the end of the train was on her right, she ran left screaming,

"DANI! SIRIUS! YOU'RE DEAD!"

Dani and Sirius reached the end of the train when they heard Lily. "Shit!" Dani said and pulled Sirius into a corner. "Lily's gonna kill us."

"You more then me though." Sirius pointed out. Dani placed her hands on her hips.

"And why would she kill me more then you?" Sirius scoffed.

"Because she'll have expected my answer. I mean come on. I'm _**Sirius Black**_. But you. You're supposed to be her best friend. Shame on you." Dani began to look guilty just as Lily's footsteps got closer.

"Crap1 she's gonna kill me!" Sirius pushed her against the wall.

"Dani! Get a grip! Do you want Lily to kill you?" Dani raised an eyebrow. "Don't answer that. I've got a way to stall her from killing you." As Sirius spoke his heart began to pound like every time he touched her. He licked his lips and crashed them down on Dani's.

Dani froze for a moment, before hungrily kissing him back. Sirius' hands went from her shoulders to her waist and pulled her body against his. Dani's hands snaked their way around his neck. It was easily the best kiss either had ever gotten, considering just how much experience both had had with the opposite sex. Sirius cautiously flicked her bottom lip with his tongue asking for entrance. She obliged without hesitation.

Dani's hands left Sirius' neck and went under the back of his shirt. Sirius moaned in pleasure as Dani's hands moved up and down his back. He moved his mouth to her neck and bit softly earning a gasp from Dani. Lily took this second to come around the corner and discover them.

She was about to scream at them for letting James kiss her, when she saw her "best friend" entangled in the one guy she had liked for 6 years instead of 2 weeks. Lily didn't want to interrupt because 1) she knew all the millions of guys Dani had dated in the past were to keep her mind of Sirius, and 2) she was a little grossed out at how much they were going at it. Lily stomped away, knowing her anger had filed out.

"Sirius," Dani gasped once Lily was out of earshot. "She's gone. You can stop now."

"Hmmm." Was the intelligent response Sirius came up with as he continued on his 3rd hickey. "What is she comes back, Ashley?" Both Sirius and Dani's eyes widened. _**Ashley.**_ The main reason Sirius shouldn't have been touching Dani. _**Ashley Craver.**_

Ashley was a 50 Spanish, 50 Italian, and 100 Hufflepuff slut. Dani knew why Sirius liked her. She was easy and would give it up to a complete stranger. Sirius was a playa and was known to date stupid, busty wannabe models. It hurt to know he would never see her as more then a hot friend. And to speak of the devil, who should come strutting out of her compartment but Ashley herself.

She was wearing an extremely tight tube top that accented her chest and curves way too much. Under it was a short white skirt and on her feet were matching white platforms. As she approached them, Dani shoved Sirius off her. Ashley squealed when she got near Sirius and clung to his arm like a leech.

"Sirius! I've been looking for you everywhere." She then turned to Dani. "Oh, hi tomboy. Shouldn't you be crawling around in the mud?" She said with a fake smile. The hem of Dani's skirt and the edge of her waist-length hair turned red. Dani smiled in return. Everyone knew about the Ashley-Dani-Lily hate thing. Ashley hated Lily because she was pretty and had a figure she didn't have to work for. She hated Dani because she hung out with the hottest guys in school, aka The Marauders on a daily basis. It was impossible to find a girl at Hogwarts who wasn't jealous of Dani. (Except for Lily of course!)

"Ashley, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be looking for a strip pole and a boom box?" Just then an evil idea on how to piss off Ashley popped into Dani's head. She looked at Sirius. "Catch you later Black. Oh, and if you need anymore help with distressing yourself," she said as she pressed her body against Sirius. "You know where to find me." And with that, she turned and walked away, taking extra precaution to sway her hips the whole time.


	2. A Makeup, A Breakup, And A Food Fight

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Ashley looked at Sirius. "What was she talking about?" Sirius started babbling.

"I…I…I" Ashley's insides flared up. She did not want Dani "Tomboy" Carlson near her man! She decided to make Sirius remember who his girlfriend actually was. Her eyes welled up and thousands of Crocodile tears came pouring out.

"I can't believe you would cheat on me and with _**her!**_" Sirius panicked. Crying girls were not his specialty. They were James! So he quickly formatted a lie.

"No baby. I would never cheat on you." Sirius said as he wiped her tears while looking in her blue eyes. _**"I wish they were brown like Dani's." **_He thought. Ashley smiled wickedly.

"So you want nothing to do with that slut, Dani?" she said as she pushed herself against Sirius sending his hormones running. He groaned cursing the day his puberty started.

"Of course I'd never cheat on you with that slut Dani." It killed him to say it, because he knew he didn't feel that way about Dani. Ashley grinned.

"Good. So what are you waiting for? Kiss me bad boy." That was all the permission Sirius needed. Unlike with Dani, the only real feelings Sirius actually had for Ashley was lust. He slammed her against the wall earning a cry to escape her lungs. Sirius kissed her furiously. Ashley smiled as she thought to herself.

"_**Ha Carlson. I have something you don't."**_

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Dani walked into her compartment and Lily, James, and Peter's heads turned to look at her. They took in her rumpled clothing, her now frizzy hair, and her smeared lip gloss. "Wow Dani. Did you come from a compartment, or the strip club?" Lily asked while handing Dani a mirror. Dani straightened her shirt and smoothed out her skirt. She then brushed her hair until it was again smooth and wavy. Then she settled herself in James' lap. James wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed the pulse in her neck and buried his face in the scent of her perfume.

"Lavender. Why do girls always smell so good?" He asked as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Why do other boys always smell so rank, while you smell so sexy?" Dani said referring to James' cologne. Peter didn't seem to notice the arrangement, but Lily did. She turned to face the compartment door, suddenly feeling something she had never felt before. Love? No. This was a feeling of hate. Anger? Not quite. Jealousy? Bingo! But of what? James? No! Hell no! It had something to do with Dani. She looked back at Dani and James. They had accidentally knocked Peter on the floor while they were wrestling. James was on top tickling Dani's sides causing her to giggle so much she was crying. Once again Lily felt that twinge in her stomach. When a sudden realization, she realized why she was jealous. She was jealous of Dani's relationship with James.

"Bloody Hell!" **(A/N****-I had to put in Ron's phrase** She yelled. Dani and James snapped out of their own little world giving Dani time to push James off her, and onto Peter.

"Sorry Pete." Peter grunted in response.

"Why'd you yell Lily?" Dani asked while laughing at James. Lily shook her head.

"Trust me. You don't want to know." Just then, Sirius with Ashley clinging to his arm came in laughing. If Dani looked bad when she came in, then Ashley and Sirius were two whores. Sirius' hair was an afro, his shirt was 3 buttons off, he had lost his belt so his pants were falling off, and his shoes were on the wrong feet. Ashley's shirt was wrinkled and halfway unbuttoned. Her skirt was on backwards and she was barefoot. Her shoes were probably in the hall. Sirius looked around.

"Where's Remus?" He asked.

"Prefect Meeting. He's gonna tell Lily about it when he gets back." James said while looking at Dani. Lily and Peter had also been watching Dani since Ashley walked in. From her bottom rib down, her hair was red. Her trainers, socks, and entire skirt were red also.

"So _**Danielle,**_" Ashley started. Dani winced as usual. "Are you sure you're not a guy? Cause with all the guy things you do, it's hard to believe you're a girl." James and Lily instantly jumped to Dani's sides and pulled her down before she could stand. Ashley smiled to herself.

"_**Looks like the Gryffindor Princess is angry."**_ Dani's soft brown eyes were now glaring flames.

"Fuck off Ashley." Dani said. Lily was silently praying that Ashley would do just that. James was thinking the same thing. Sirius remained silent.

"Yeah it's not like anyone wants you here bitch, in the first place." Lily added. Ashley's eyes narrowed.

"Siri wants me here. Unlike you Dani." James and Lily's ears picked up along with Dani's.

"Dani's one of my closet friends. Why wouldn't I want her here?" Sirius asked, furious that his own girlfriend had insulted the girl of his dreams.

"You said it yourself. You'd rather have me then Dani, the slut." At this point James and Lily were forced to let go of Dani cause her skin was now hot as fire. Dani jumped up and stared her down, which wasn't too hard considering she was a good 3 inches taller.

"What the hell are you on about now, Craver?"

"Right after you left, Sirius said he'd rather have me than a slut like you." Dani looked at Sirius, whose mouth was hanging open."

"Is that true?" She asked him, and he stuttered. He couldn't lie because when he was 6, his mother put a spell on him to make him blurt out the truth when he did something he felt guilty about. And he definitely felt guilty about that.

"Dani, look-" Dani pushed him so hard against the door, the glass shattered.

"If you didn't mean it, you wouldn't have said it." She looked at Ashley who was backing up." I unlike you don't have to have sex with a guy to get a man. I just have to walk out the door." And to prove her point, she did just that. When the glass had shattered, everyone had opened their compartment doors to see why. Dani walked down the hall and grabbed a hot, random guy. She kissed him passionately and Sirius had to clench his fists to stop himself from punching something, or _**someone.**_ When Dani and the boy had come up for air, Dani said,

"Why don't we go somewhere more private." She didn't wait for an answer. She grabbed his arm and led him into an empty compartment and closed the door.

"Ain't nothing to see. Go back to your compartments." James said after a moment or 2 of silence. Remus, who had been in the hallway looked from the shell-shocked James and Lily to the flaming Sirius who was covered in glass, to the fear stricken faces of Peter and Ashley.

"So," He started. "What I miss?"

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An hour later, the glass door had been fixed, Ashley had left, and Lily was brushing her hair while James stared at her. Dani had still not returned from the compartment she was in. "What if something's wrong? What if he took advantage of her? We can't be more than 30 minutes away from Hogwarts. How is she going to change into her robes?" Sirius questioned out loud. As if to answer his question, Dani's trunk opened, and her school robes floated out. They moved toward the door and after the door opened, they floated down the hall.

"Well that solves the robes problem." James said.

"Besides, Dani is a Temperantrus. If he even thinks about making a move that she doesn't want him to make, a month from now he'll be in a box being put in the ground." Lily said while trying to get as far away from James as possible. About half an hour later, they had 5 minutes before the train stopped. Still no sign of Dani. Everyone was getting worried. No matter how mad she was, Dani had never been gone this long. No one said it, but they all knew that when Dani was mad, she might do something she'd regret. When they were in 4th Year, Serveus Snape called her a Mudblood Lover. Dani had to face the entire Wizangomet for attempted murder. Sirius couldn't take it anymore and he decided to go look for Dani.

"Where are you going?" Remus asked not taking his eyes of James; whos eyes were wide as saucers because Lily had accidentally fallen asleep in his lap.

"To the loo." Sirius lied. He walked down the hall and decided to check the compartment Dani went in. the guy was in there asleep on the seat, but Dani wasn't. Sirius sighed in relief that he hadn't walked in on them. He started down the hall again, watching the girls swoon when he flashed them his famous 1,000 watt smile. After 3 girls fainted when he walked by, he heard her talking.

"I want these, no I want those, no I'll have both." Sure enough Dani was at the food trolley buying just about all the candy. When she was done, the old witch had nothing left. Dani then shrank all the food and put them in her pockets. That's when she saw Sirius. She turned and began to walk away, when the train jolted to a stop. It was so sudden that she lost her balance and fell backwards. Luckily Sirius caught her before she hit the ground.

"Let me go!" Dani demanded. Sirius smirked.

"Okay." That time she did hit the ground. The doors opened and students came pouring out of their compartments. Dani tripped Sirius with her foot and he landed on his back. He got up, but Dani was lost in the crowd. He got on the platform and waited for James and Peter, because Remus was a prefect. Again. While he waited, he searched for Dani. He was amazed he couldn't see her. With her height of 5"10, her streaked red, waist length black hair, and obvious confidence that most girls wish they had, she was pretty hard to miss.

"Padfoot, aren't you listening?" Sirius turned around to see a worried Peter and a bemused looking James.

"No. I wasn't." Sirius said. James shoved him as they went to search for a carriage. They spotted Dani in front of a carriage and she appeared to be petting air. Dani had been able to see the Threstals since her first day at Hogwarts, but no one knew why and she never talked about. When Dani saw Sirius coming, she turned to run away, but James grabbed her arm.

"No. You and Sirius are going to work this out now." James said as he pushed Sirius and Dani into the carriage and closed the door. Remus walked up to them and heard Dani and Sirius yelling.

"Let me guess. This is your way of Getting Dani to forgive Sirius. James, wherever your head is in the clouds, bring it back down to Earth." Remus said while climbing in a different carriage, James and Peter behind him.

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"Get off me big foot!" Dani said. Sirius landed on top of her and his build was crushing her lungs. Sirius rolled off her and grabbed her wrists.

"Dani, before you say anything, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. What do you want from me?" Dani glared at him.

"How about a little loyalty?" Dani said pulling her wrists back.

"I could do that." Sirius said. Dani's eyes rolled.

"Are you sure?" She said sarcastically.

"Dani, you're my best girl friend. The only reason why I said that is because I'm a guy. I mean honestly. My hormones invaded what was left of my brain at 12." Dani wanted to smile, but tried to hide it. "Is that a smile?" Sirius asked teasingly.

"No." Dani said."

"Really? Cause it looks like a smile to me." Sirius then jumped on Dani and began to tickle her like James had done earlier. After about 5 minutes of Sirius' torture, he stopped. "Dani, I really didn't mean to say that. Even though you go through guys like I go through girls, if not faster, I could never think you were a slut because I know you. I'm honestly sorry. Forgive me?" Dani looked into Sirius' eyes and saw those rare moments where Sirius was actually being sincere.

"Now, why can't you show this sensitive side more often?" Dani asked Sirius.

"Because. I have a reputation to uphold here." He said switching right back to player Sirius mode.

"Same old Sirius."

"Who would never intend to hurt you." Sirius added.

"Fine. Why not? I forgive you." Dani said.

"So," Sirius started uneasily. "How's your new boyfriend?" Dani gave him a look that clearly said, _**What?**_ "The dude you got friendly with in the compartment." Sirius said while trying his best to keep his temper in check. Comprehension dawned on Dani.

"Tony? I dated him two years ago. When I kissed him he said the sparks were still there." Dani cleared her throat. "What about Ashley?" Sirius shook his head.

"I'm going to break-up with her. That comment was the last straw. Also, she's way too clingy." Dani wanted to scream at him, _**"I love you, you idiot! Can't you see that?" **_But instead, she said,

"Sirius, you're still on top of me. Get off."

"Right. I know that." Just as he was about to get off her, the carriage door was opened. James and Remus were grinning from ear to ear, Peter was confused as usual, Lily looked upset that Dani still liked Sirius, and Ashley looked furious.

"Sirius! I can't believe you!" Sirius jumped out of the carriage and helped Dani out.

"Well believe it. I lied. I'm cheating on you with Dani." To prove his point, he kissed Dani right in front of the Hogwarts student body. Everyone who was watching** (Which is a lot because most girls had come to see the Marauders and most guys had come to see Dani)** mouths fell open. Sirius released Dani's mouth from his and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"How could you!" Ashley screeched. "And with this…with this…"

"Beautiful girl who I really care about." Sirius finished for her. Ashley stormed off in furious tears. Lily rolled her eyes wondering why her friend cared so much for this guy. Once everyone had left, Sirius turned to Dani. "Thanks for playing along."

"With what?" Dani asked dreamily. Sirius looked at her confused. "Right. The break-up. No prob." Dani recovered. "Come on Lil. Let's go to dinner." Before Lily could object, Dani dragged her in the castle, up the stairs and into the Great Hall. "Are you okay?" Dani asked Lily who was hunched over and holding her ribs.

"Considering I just ran a marathon in a period of 30 seconds, no I'm not fine!" Lily sat in the first seat closest to the door and Dani sat next to her. The Marauders came in as Lily was falling asleep from her run. James sat across from Lily, Sirius from Dani, and Peter sat across from Remus as on Dani's other side. The first Years came in shortly after.

"Were we really that short!?" James, Sirius and Dani asked. Remus laughed at how his friends could be so stupid. The sorting began, but of course the only people actually paying attention were the Prefects and the Heads who were trying to live up to their badges. When it was over, Dumbledore stood up.

"Lead by our Marauders, pig out!" He said. And as soon as the food appeared, that's what Sirius Dani and James did. Lily and Remus though used to it were still disgusted. Lily turned back to her plate of food and reached for the salt. Another hand grabbed it when she did. It was smooth and warm and slightly bigger than hers. She was about to apologize when she saw James grinning at her.

"Why are you smiling like that?" James' grin grew even bigger. He pointed with his head toward her hand. She looked and noticed it was his hand covering hers. He ran his thumb over her hand as he said,

"You know what you would look great in? Syrup. Covering you from head to toe in hot, gooey-" Before he could say another word, Lily had taken her plate of food and flipped it over so it drenched him in mashed potatoes, gravy, cream corn, and hot soup. Unfortunately, some of the mashed potatoes landed in the hair of a Ravenclaw. He turned around and seeing a Grffindor snicker, assumed he had thrown it. He picked up his cream corn and hurled it at him. And that was how it all started. Before anyone could do anything, all hell broke lose. Desserts, dressing, silverware, it all went flying.

"CEASE!" Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at Dumbledore who had his wand at his neck. He didn't have an angry expression. It was a disappointed one which was much worse than him angry. Lily and James had been rolling around on the table, Remus had been flinging gravy, Peter was under the table, and Dani and Sirius had been throwing and gathering amo from behind an upturned table.

"Scourgify!" said Professor McGonagall. She rushed up to James and Lily. James had ended up on top of Lily and she kicked him off. "Potter! Evans! Detention. Tomorrow night. My office." James just sort of nodded his head to the side. Lily on the other hand was in shock. She, Lily Evans, for the first time in her life had landed a _**DETENTION!**_

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Sorry it took so long. I'm a slow typer.**


	3. One Girl One Boy One Dream?

__

"Lily, Lily." Dani said in the Common Room. She was still in shock from what McGonagall had said earlier. _**Detention, Detention, Detention **_kept running through her head. For Dani it would be okay, but Lily was a goody two shoes and knew and liked it.

"I can't believe I got a detention." Lily said for the first time since diner ended. "And to make things worse, it's with that bloody James Potter! He's so…"

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"Prefect! I mean she's amazing! She's smart, gorgeous, interesting, and, and, I don't know!" said James enthusiastically! Sirius was upside down on James' bed with Remus next to him. They were used to James' rants about how wonderful Evans was. Peter had fallen asleep and was snoring softly. "I mean think about it. I get to spend 4 glorious hours with her. Who knows? She might actually fall for me." Sirius flipped over so he was standing up and facing James.

"Prongs, she's had the past 5 years to fall for you. What makes you think this year's gonna change?"

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"Honestly what makes him think this Year's gonna change?" Lily said as they walked down up to their dorm. "He's an idiot and an airhead. Why you're so close to him, I'll never understand." They opened the door and were immediately bombarded by questions.

"Lily, I can't believe it!" Alice Wintergreen said. Alice was one of the three girls that Dani and Lily shared a dorm with. Alice was dating Frank Longbottom who was in his 7th and final year at Hogwarts.

"I was in shock when I heard you got a detention." Molly Wickers said as she sat on her bed. Molly was currently dating Arthur Weasley. Arthur had graduated the year before and was pretty nice, though strangely obsessed with muggles. The other person they shared the dorm with was Ana. Ana was quiet, and really shy. Though Ana was rather pretty, because she got picked on by the Slytherins, she had a low self esteem. Just like Dani was the female Sirius, Ana was the female Remus. Ana, as usual, was hiding behind a book. While Danni walked over and started a conversation with her, Lily answered the questions shot at her from Molly and Alice. When Molly and Alice were finally satisfied with their answers, they walked over to their beds.

"Why do you dislike James so much, Lily?" Alice asked as Dani pried the book from Ana's hands.

"He started it." Lily pouted while crossing her arms across her chest. "Back in Second Year."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

""Why does Evans hate you so much?" Sirius asked. James sighed and plopped down on his bed.

"It all started with the Second Year Catastrophe Spin the Bottle Game."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"Back in November of our Second Year, we were still friends. Some other Second and Third Years were playing a game of Spin the Bottle." Lily said. "The Marauders, Dani and I knew a few of them, so they asked us to play. We agreed."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"That summer, my puberty had started. My voice had dropped, I grew a couple of inches, and I grew into my hair. I blended in well with the Third Years. And," James ran a hand through his hair. "Some of the girls thought I was a Third Year too."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"Some blonde Third Year spins the Butterbeer bottle." Dani had picked up where Lily had left off. Molly and Alice's eyes were as wide as saucers. Ana was once again looking at her book, but the page hadn't turned, it was upside down, and her eyes had yet to move. "When the bottle finally stopped spinning, it landed on James who instantly turned bright red."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"Stop barking Padfoot!" James yelled at Sirius who was rolling around on the floor laughing. "I was 12. Your first kiss wasn't until you were 14." That shut Sirius up. He pointed at Remus and James.

"That never leaves this room. Continue Prongs." James smiled. "Like I was saying, this pretty blonde Third Year started to grin like a bloody pumpkin when the bottle stopped. She got up, walked over and pushed Lily, who had been sitting next to me."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"Then that bimbo pushes me over and sits next to James. She giggles, bats her eyes, the whole nine yards, and then she leans in and locks her lips with his. Within 10 seconds, James is French kissing a total stranger!" Lily ranted while pacing back and forth. Four sets of eyes followed her back and forth as she walked. "Then, when they finally come up for air, Potter goes…"

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"How about we continue this in Private." James said with his head in his hands. "S he nodded and we took off out of the Common Room. I can't remember what we did, but I'm more than sure, we were no longer virgins. We got back to the Common Room and went our separate ways at about 3 AM." James was now trying to suffocate himself with his pillow. Remus ripped it from his hands.

"Hey. You can kill yourself after the story. What happened next?" James nodded and sat up, but darkness shone vibrant in his eyes like every time Lily turned him down. "After that night my friendship with Evans went down hill. Apparently that blonde told every girl in school that I was really good, cause the next day, every girl seemed glued to me."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"The next day, James walked with a strut. And girls seemed to fall at his feet when he smiled. It was Saturday and he would disappear with different girls for hours at a time. Suddenly the sweet James Potter I had met on the train was replaced by an arrogant, over confident airhead pretty boy." Lily landed on her bed.

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"But what really started the feud, was when we tried to drown Snape the March. And while she was telling to put Snape down, I hit on her…"

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"Then I slapped him, and that was the begging of World War 3." Lily finished Molly and Alice sat stock still, reeling in what they had just heard. Dani having been in the middle of James and Lily's fighting, crossed her arms as she lay on her bed, wishing that Lily could see just how much James honestly cared for her. All five girls were startled when a clock from inside the castle chimed 11 times. The girls were getting ready when Dani said,

"I'm hungry." Just then the window opened and a flying paper Crane flew in and landed on Dani's pillow. "I should have known." She opened it, and Alice instantly asked,

"It's from the guys, isn't it?" Dani nodded.

**Hey Fireyes! ****(A/N you'll find out about the name later) **

**Knowing you, you're most likely hungrily. **

**Meet you in the Common Room in 5.**

**Love,**

**Your Boys**

"Aww! I love how the sign all their notes that way. _Love, your boys_." It's as if they belong to you. Alice said. Dani smiled a toothy smile. I know. Any of you guys want to come?" We're gonna raid the kitchens." Molly shook her head.

"I'm stuffed."

"Me too." Added Alice. Ana whispered in a barely audible voice,

"No." Dani turned to Lily who was currently changing the curtains around her bed from Gryffindor Red to Emerald Green, her favorite color, like she did every year.

"Don't even think about asking, Dani. First of all, you finished dinner less than 2 hours ago. How can you possibly be hungry? And 2, I'm not going anywhere with Potter at night when I'm supposed to be asleep. So go. Have fun. Bye-Bye." Dani put on her flat black shoes knowing she had lost before she even started. When her shoes were on, she bid everyone good night and closed the door behind her. About 20 minutes later, the lights were out, all was quiet, and everyone was asleep. Everyone except a certain redhead with dazzling green eyes who was silently wondering what would have happened if she had agreed to break the rules.

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"James, I don't know. Maybe you should lay low. At least until after your detention tomorrow." Dani suggested after hearing James' one billionth plan to get with Lily. Dani and the Marauders (excluding Peter who was still asleep upstairs) were eating hot fudge sundaes at a table in the kitchen. Remus was staring at his half eaten sundae.

"Full moon's tomorrow." Remus said. Dani squeezed his hand in reassurance. Remus had accidentally spilled that he was a Werewolf after accidentally drinking Veritserum James and Sirius were going to use for a prank. They were in Second Year when that happened. In Fifth Year, Peter, James, and Sirius perfected their Anamanigus forms and started to accompany Remus till one day a tiger joined them. It turns out the books they would use, Dani would steal when they weren't looking. Dani had mastered her tiger form 3 weeks before the boys did. And she went every other month. Thus causing her Marauder nickname, Fireyes.

"Remus, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. Like it always is." Dani said. Sirius and James nodded in agreement. Remus though, still had the strongest feeling that it wasn't. And something was going to go terribly wrong. If he only knew.

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

_**Lily ran through the trees in the Forbidden Forest trying desperately to escape from whatever was chasing her. But it seemed the more she ran, the faster the creature got. As she ran, she cried. Branches scratched her arms and legs. They left marks on her beautiful face and twigs in her beautiful hair. Before long, she was extremely lost. So that even if she got away, she'd never find her way back. To make matters worse, it began to rain cats and dogs. Then she tripped on an uprooted tree root. She tried to get up to find that her ankle was twisted the wrong way. Lily was now crying because she was hurt, dirty, and she knew that soon her time would be up. The creature lured over her and she felt its rancid breath on its neck. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worse. One second she could fell its teeth skim her skin, and then they were gone. She heard a spell hit the beast and the beast hit a tree. There was such power and emotion in the spell, that the monster went through 3 trees and was killed before it hit the ground. Lily lifted her head to see James Potter's face only inches from her own. He pulled her to her feet, but when Lily tried to stand on her right ankle, she yelped with pain. **_

"_**Okay. Standing on my right ankle, not a good idea." Lily said as she winced. James chuckled.**_

"_**Well, I'll just have to carry you then." Before Lily could protest James had picked her up bridal style and had started walking back towards the castle. It seemed that the trees parted for them as they passed for no branches touched them at all. Once they were outside the forest, Lily saw a broom levitating and knew that was how James saw her. He gently placed her on the broom and then got on it himself. Lily placed his arms around his waist before James was situated on the broom. **_

"_**Um, James? You should probably know something. I don't like flying because I don't like heights. I unlike Dani haven't been on a broom since First Year." James looked back at her with his famous Potter smirk. **_

"_**Then hold on tight, cause we're going sky high!" And with that being said, he pulled up on his Nimbus, and untoward the sky. Lily closed her eyes and began to scream and imagine all the horrible things that could happen. **_

'_**I could fall. I could break my neck. I could get killed!' **_

"_**Lily!" James yelled over her screaming. "Open your eyes." He felt her shake her head into his back. "I know with our past and everything this is the last thing you want to do, but trust me." Lily rolled her eyes in her head.**_

'_**He's right. That is the last thing I want to do.' She said in her head. But she opened her green eyes anyway. "Wow." Lily breathed. The bright almost full moon, contracted beautifully with the stars and the dark sky. **_

"_**Now you see why I love to fly." James said while looking at Lily. She smiled and nodded. "Good. Now you're gonna see something else I love to do." **_

"_**Sexually harass me?" Lily said without thinking. James rolled his eyes playfully. **_

"_**No. This!" James dived without warning. Lily would've screamed but it got caught in her throat when she saw the ground getting closer. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact, when all the wind coming at her face stopped. She opened her eyes to se they were hovering 25 feet off the ground. "And that is what I, James Potter, Seeker Extraordinaire, like to call a Wronski Feint." Lily was shaking behind him. "Lily, if I'm gonna take you back to your dorm, I need to be able to breathe." Lily loosened her hold and James' lungs. But just slightly. This time, James rose slowly, giving Lily a chance to see what he saw when he flew by her window at night. The light from the moon cast a shadow over the Quidditch Pitch and the fields and it was so beautiful. Lily was so busy looking at the grounds, she didn't notice they had arrived at her open dorm window until James had jumped off the broom and into her room landing on his feet. **_

"_**Cat." Lily said. James smiled. He motioned for Lily to jump next. Lily shook her head violently and clutched the broom. She just realized that if she fell, she'd die before she hit the ground. James gently put his hands on her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. **_

'_**To think. 6 years of fantasizing really does pay off.' He pulled her off his broom and carried her to her bed. Luckily for them no one else in the room was awake. He placed her quietly in her bed and turned to leave, but Lily's arms were still wrapped around his neck.**_

"_**James, thank you. For saving me and for the amazing view." James nodded but honestly had no idea what she just said. He was lost in her emerald eyes. Lily too had grown silent. She was too busy staring into his gorgeous hazel eyes to speak. **_

'_**It's now or never.' He thought as he slowly leaned down, giving Lily a chance to reject him, but praying she didn't. Lily saw him lean down towards her, and strangely she didn't want to stop him. I n what seemed like an eternity to both James and Lily, his lips met hers. It was a soft and gentle kiss but held the passion of 6 years in the making. James flicked her bottom lip with his tongue. Lily hesitated, but soon opened her mouth and granted him entrance. **_

"_**Soon it was an all out tongue war. Subconsciously, James had gotten on top of Lily and was now straddling her hips. Lily's arms moved from his neck to pull off his shirt. James broke the kiss and took it of for her, but his lips went to her neck and he bit down softly. **_

"_**James." Lily moaned. Gaining confidence with each moan Lily provided, James slowly sunk his hands up her shirt. He ran his fingers over her flat stomach, down her curvy sides, and stopping at her bra. "Well." Lily said. "I never thought James Potter would be scared to take off a bra." James pulled back to look down at the girl who both secretly scared him and publicly turned him on. Lily's eyes were still a little puffy from when she had been crying, her cheeks were streaked with tears, her hair and twigs and sticks in it, her lips were now swollen from snogging, she had starches all over, and hickeys from James were now forming on her neck. To someone else, Lily might have looked utterly repulsive, but to James she was her angelic self as usual. **_

"_**I'm not scared." He said. "I just want to make sure you were okay with it." To answer his question, Lily began to unbutton her shirt. With each undone button, James' heart began to beat faster. When Lily pulled off her shirt, James saw her baby blue bra was clasped in the front. With fumbling fingers, and with his eyes concentrating on hers, he opened the clasp. He slowly looked down as if treasuring the moment. When his eyes reached her chest they seemed to pop out of his head. He then flicked the nipples with his thumbs. Lily's eyes snapped shut and she groaned in pleasure. Lily raked her nails down his chest feeling his muscles tense and release over and over again. After hearing James groan into her breasts from her pleasurable torture, Lily's hands dropped even lower to his pants. She undid his belt and threw it across the room. She undid his pants and pushed them down to reveal red and gold silk boxers and James kicked them the rest of the way down. James then pulled down Lily's skirt, and saw she was wearing baby blue knickers to match her bra. James once again pulled back, but this time he asked the question with his eyes.**_

"_**Are you sure you wanna do this?" Lily closed the hangings around her bed. **_

"_**Yes."**_

James and Lily awoke in their own beds, both drenched in their own sweat. Lily wore a look of fear, while James' grin was as big as Hogwarts. Then, they both screamed. While Lily's was one of terror, James was one of pure childish glee. Either way, everyone was Gryffindor Tower was definitely awake now.


	4. A Fight and Pollyjuice Potion

It was now breakfast time and Lily and James were telling the story for their friends. "Sounds to me like someone's got the hots for a certain toerag." Dani said when Lily was done. Lily glared and threw a biscuit at her.

"It's not funny."

"Do I look like I'm laughing?"

"You did earlier." Molly reminded her. Dani nodded.

"That's because when she stopped screaming she said, _**'I had an erotic dream about James Potter and now I'm scared.'**_" Molly and Alice laughed in their eggs, and Ana laughed in her book. Lily hated all of them. "Honestly Lily. If it's not fate, then what is it?" Dani said while refilling her plate with food. Lily's eyes narrowed.

"It's a cruse." Molly, Ana, Alice, and Dani rolled their eyes in unison. The post arrived and the air was filled with screeches. Ana got a new book from her parents, Molly got a letter from her boyfriend, Alice and Lily got their _**Daily Prophet**_, and Dani got a small box. It was wrapped in green Christmas paper with a red bow on top.

Dani arched an eyebrow and pulled one of the ends of the bow. It came off and the box fell apart. Small fireworks were exploding where the top of the box was. And on the bottom running around in circles was a white paper dog. Dani picked it up and opened it. She read and scoffed. "What?" Alice asked while sipping her pumpkin juice.

**Triple D, or Dare-Devil-Dani,**

**Move down six seats.**

**Seriously,**

**Sirius**

All 5 girls looked to the left to see the Marauders wave. Molly and Alice smiled behind their hands and Ana giggled behind her book. Lily turned the other way when she saw James staring in her direction. Dani stood up and walked down six seats which landed her in between Sirius and James. She put her elbows on the table and rubbed her temples.

"So let me get this straight. You wrote a note, made it into a paper dog, bewitched it to chase it's tale, put it in a Christmas wrapped box even though it's September, added a couple of fireworks and tied it with a bow just to say move six seats down?" Sirius nodded childishly.

"Remus helped." Dani looked at Remus who shrugged.

"He was bugging me at 3 AM this morning. I wanted to hit him but that would have completely woken me up."

"But doing spells didn't?" Dani asked. Remus shook his head.

"Nope." James shook his head and stopped the conversation.

"Yeah, yeah. Back to more important things. Like my dream last night." James said gaining Dani's attention. Halfway through his dream, Dani's head was leaning on her hand and had stopped paying attention after the first minute. Instead she noticed things that she never had before about her best friend. Like how his hair was so tempting to touch, or how his nicely chiseled chest was visible through his white shirt. She was so busy staring at James, that she didn't notice that he had stopped talking. "Danielle?" James said while waving his hand in front of Dani's face.

"Wow." Remus remarked. "You said her full first name and she didn't make an attempt to strangle you. She must be out of it." James gently shook her shoulder.

"You have gorgeous eyes." Dani said with her eyes slightly glazed over. Sirius spit out his pumpkin juice from behind her.

"WHAT?!" All 4 of the Marauders asked. Dani shrugged. She was back to normal, but it seemed like she had meant what she said.

"I just never noticed it before."

"Noticed what before? That you were a girl?" The four girls and the Marauders all looked at the bottom of Dani's hair, and sure enough, the red had gotten an inch higher.

"Dani, don't turn around." The Marauders and the girls said, even quiet little Ana. Dani clenched her fists and continued the conversation as if Ashley and her goons weren't behind her. Unfortunately, that was a bad idea.

"And no offense James, but why should I listen to your dream last night, when Lily already told me the same thing this morning?" When she realized what she said, she gasped along with everyone in hearing distance which included the Marauders, Ashley and her clones, and the Gryffindors who had been paying attention. "I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that." Dani said while shaking her hair, making it hit James and Sirius lightly. Ashley smirked.

'_**Ooh. Revenge.' **_She thought. Ashley then climbed on the seat and stepped on the table. By now most of the Great Hall was looking at her and when she spoke everyone was. "Hear me, hear me. I would just like the Great Hall to know that Lily Evans is having very naughty dreams about James Po-" She didn't finish her sentence because Dani grabbed her ankle and pulled it out from under her, causing her to hit her head on the table. But the damage was done. Everyone only had to guess to create rumors about Lily Evans and James Po. Lily felt her eyes well up at how her ex-best friend would do something so bad as to tell an enemy a secret. She heard the whispers and wanted to cry but not in front of everyone. She stood up and sprinted towards the door

"Lily!" Dani yelled and chased after her, hoping she could make things right. James and Sirius turned around to see McGonagall with her usual facial expression.

"Take Miss Evans and Miss Carlson their timetables. They have almost your exact schedule." With that she turned and walked back to the staff table. Madam Pomfrey came towards them, levitated the unconscious Ashley and rushed off towards the hospital wing, Ashley's clones right behind her crying a lake's worth of crocodile tears. The Hall went quiet for a while, before returning to their previous conversations.

"So," James smirked. "Evans is dreaming about me." Remus was going to say something but decided against it. Sirius shook his head and clapped his best friend on the back.

"Whatever man. So who do you want to give their timetable to? Pick Lily please." Sirius said. James' smirk turned into a grin.

"Black finally admits it. He's got a crush on Hogwarts #1 Hottie." Sirius, though, decided to deny the truth.

"I don't have a crush on Dani. You just said it your self. She is the Hogwarts #1 Hottie for the girls, so she's hot. There's no denying that. We, of course are tied for #1 Hottie in the guys, but that's beside the point. The main reason why I want you to give Lily her timetable is because you get along with her better than I do." Remus arched an eyebrow.

"Lily and James get along?" Remus asked.

"Better than me and her! You remembered what happened this summer. She kicked me where the sun don't shine."

"That's because you sunk into her room with both a magical and a muggle camera to take pictures of her undressing. I'm amazed she only kicked you once." Remus answered.

"You did?" James asked with surprise. "Even I'm not that stupid." Sirius glared at the both of them.

"I'll let Reus' remark slide because tonight's the full moon and he tends to get cocky. James, wait till Quidditch practice." With that he picked up Dani's timetable, his bag and left the Great Hall, With James, Remus, and Peter who had been silent through breakfast behind him.

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"Lily, Lily. Lils!" Dani called down the hall. Lily continued to ignore her as she headed towards Divination, which she knew was first.

'_**Why are there so many damn stairs?'**_ Lily thought as she climbed higher and higher.

"Lily you can't stay mad at me forever."

"Yes I can! Ever heard of a redhead's temper?" Lily said without turning around. When they finally reached the Divination classroom, both girls were tired and sweaty from going up the stairs so fast. Once both girls had preformed a drying charm, Dani resumed where they had left off on the stairs.

"Fine! If you're not talking to me, I want my Transfiguration book back." Lily didn't object. She just pulled out the textbook and hurled it at Dani. Dani ducked just as it narrowly missed her head. When the boys got up there 5 minutes later, Lily and Dani were throwing books and bewitching suits of amour to fly at each other.

"Expelliarmus!" Remus yelled. He aimed it at Lily first.

"Ha!" Dani said before her own wand flew out of her hand. "Hey!" Remus rolled his eyes.

"Reparo." He said while pointing at the suits of amour which fixed themselves and flew back to where they had been standing before. Lily crossed her arms and glared at the 4 boys in front of her.

"Who's got my timetable?" She asked. James held it out and she snatched it from his hand without a second glance. Luckily for them, Professor Dale opened the trapdoor allowing them and their arriving classmates in. Lily stormed in and sat at a table far from the door. Dani accepted her timetable from Sirius and the 5 entered the classroom also. Dani walked towards the table Lily was at, but she saw her coming and grabbed a Sixth Year Hufflepuff named Erica Smith. Dani, feeling very insulted, went over to sit with the Marauders.

"Ooh. Harsh." Sirius said as they pulled out their books.

"Tell me about it." Dani sighed. "I just lost my best friend."

"I thought I was your best friend!" Sirius asked mockingly.

"In your dreams dogboy." Dani said with a smirk. Sirius who was one her left, leaned in closer to Dani until the only thing that could fit between their faces was a piece of parchment.

"You always are Dani." Their eyes seemed to lock in on each other and they didn't move. James, Remus and Peter leaned in closer as if edging them on. When they thought that the two were finally going to kiss, Professor Dale interrupted. She always did have the worst timing.

"Black, Carlson, please wait until later to let your hormones run wild." The whole class snickered, Lily being the loudest.

"Way to go, Carlson." Lily sneered from her spot across the room.

"Stick a sock in it, Evans." Dani retorted. Both girls gasped. They had been best friends since they met and had never been angry at each other for more than 10 minutes. Professor Dale choose this moment to go in one of her crazy rants. **(A/N Picture Trelawney with crazier hair and a more twisted mind. I shudder at the thought) **

"Evans, Carlson, stop bickering and take out your textbooks." Dale shook her head. "Evans and Carlson are fighting and not sitting next to each other. Next thing you know Black and Potter will be plotting their pranks against each other. I knew it. I saw this coming. The world is ending!" She said putting emphasis on the last word. The Marauders table and the two others closest to her moved back three steps. Dale looked around her classroom. "Read and discuss your past dreams quietly." With that, she turned and walked back to her desk. Lily and Erica began to talk quietly while Dani glared and growled.

"Dani, how are you feeling?" Remus asked cautiously. Dani slowly moved her attention from burning holes in Lily's head, to face Remus.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because when you came in this classroom, your nails were blue and short and now they're red and long." Dani looked at her nails to see he was right.

"Remus my best friend hates me, she's calling me by my last name, and to make it worst, she's hanging out with some Hufflepuff slut bigger than Ashley that Sirius has done 3 times." James and Peter snorted at the last part, while Remus tried to hide a smile.

"Hey!" Sirius said. "I only did her twice."

"You're blocking out Halloween." Dani said as she watched her fingernails turn blue again and grow shorter.

"Oh yeah. Now that was a bad shag."

"Really? Cause I thought she was bad period." James said.

"Wait, you both did her? Where was I?" Remus asked.

"You were with her shy best friend, Rachel, studying for Charms." James replied.

"If Sirius and James were doing her, and Remus was studying, then where was I?" Peter asked. The other three Marauders looked between each other, they all shrugged and said,

"Who knows?" Dani stared at the 4 in disbelief.

"Are all of you missing the big picture? Sirius and James did the same girl, probably within hours of each other! I'm amazed neither of you have caught something!" Dani resumed her old position of burning holes in Lily's head, and tapping her fingers on the table which went back to red and long.**(A/N her nails will be like 2 inches longer. Cause if they were longer than that, it would be creepy) **Everyone shrived from a slight breeze that went through the room, even though they windows were closed.

Lily shrived and looked at Dani to see her glaring. Lily put on a clearly fake smile and did a sarcastic wave. Dani mimicked her and did it back. Lily smirked in her head. _**'Good.' **_She thought. _**'Serve's her right.' **_Lily looked back at Erica who was telling her about all the times she had slept with Sirius black. _**'Maybe I should have picked someone else to sit with though.'**_ She thought as she cringed. "Erica, can we not talk about you sex life with Black?" She asked. Erica nodded.

"Sure we can talk about James!" Lily mentally slapped herself. _**'That is so much worse!' **_Luckily, the bell rang and Lily dashed for the door. She had a free period and nodded to go somewhere she could be alone and think. And she knew the place well. She ran to the 7th floor corridor and walked by the wall three times. When the door appeared she grabbed the handle, opened it, and slammed it shut behind her. The room was decorated to look just like the Gryffindor Common Room, minus the king-size bed. On a small table in front of the raging fire, was an assortment of chocolate. Light chocolate, dark chocolate, Caramel chocolate, white chocolate, Bertie Botts chocolate, Honeydukes chocolate, and cookie dough chocolate. **(A/N if you didn't catch that, I **_**really **_**like Chocolate!) **Lily dropped her bag on the floor and walked to the table. She picked up a candy bar, unwrapped it, took a bite and flopped down on the couch.

"In the Gryffindor Common Room, Dani had just done the same thing. "Why does she have to be so stubborn? I mean honestly, why is she so thickheaded?" Dani asked no one in particular. Remus, who had been getting paler by the hour, was looking in the fire as if he was having a staring contest with it. James was sitting cross-legged in front of a couch; eyes closed and head back, while Dani ran her fingers through his long, unruly hair. Sirius was sitting in a chair, watching James with a look of loathing, and every now and then his hand would inch towards his wand. Peter was lying on his back staring at the ceiling.

"Well, then that's two things you in common. Being thickheaded and stubborn." Sirius stated. Dani turned to glare at Sirius and unconsciously stopped stroking James' hair. James however did notice.

"Why'd you stop?" He turned around to ask. Dani scoffed and resumed her old position of touching James hair and James resumed his old position.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's worry about James' needs later. The person's whose needs are most important right now are Moony's." Remus turned at the sound of his name and looked at them as if this was the first time he had seen any of them.

"Yeah," Peter piped up. "James has detention. What about the full moon?"

"Both Lily and McGonagall will be suspicious if I'm not there. And one of them being suspicious is bad enough. And one of them being suspicious is bad enough." James said. He opened his eyes and grinned at Dani. "You're good with your hands. In more than one. It's probably from years of practice and experience." James wiggled his eyebrows to make sure they caught his drift.

"Potter, start focusing on the conversation, and stop focusing on the thing that's clearly growing in your pants." Sirius said. Dani snickered while Peter laughed out loud. Even Remus cracked a smile. "So James has a detention tonight, but it's also the full moon and he needs to be Prongs. Well the answer is simple. We need someone to pose as James." Sirius said one Peter had finished cackling. James stood up and dusted himself off.

"Well, good luck finding someone to play the part of me. Dani stood up beside him and rolled her eyes.

"He's right you know. You can't just get anyone to play James Michael Potter. They have to be perfect. They have to have a big head, a bigger ego, an extremely cocky side, must be 99 testosterone, and his family jewels must be ready to stand at attention every five minutes because James is just that horny." Dani finished her statement by patting James on the chest twice. "Isn't that right, big boy?"

"Well then let's describe the perfect actress for you. She'd have to know she was hot, she'd have to flaunt he body every opportunity she got, she'd have to be good at faking orgasms, and know every sex position know to man _**and **_animals." James grinned clearly proud of himself. Unnoticed to the two, Peter had suck up behind them and pulled about a handful of hair from each of their heads. Unfortunately for them, they felt the hair leave.

"Peter?!"

"Wormtail?!" They yelled.

"Sirius told me to!" He said as he ran over to where Sirius stood with his hands behind his back, clearly holding something. From behind him he brought out a clear, plastic container full of bubbling, green potion. James and Dani instantly knew what Sirius had in mind.

"Look. It's perfect. You guys have known each other since you were 4. You know everything about each other. Besides Dani, if you can be James for a school day, then you can definitely be James for two hours." Sirius said while putting the hair in the glasses he had just conjured.

"Well, Mr. Genius, did you think about how I'll have to be James for two extra hours?" Dani said while putting her hands on her hips.

"Fine. James can be you for two hours tomorrow, while you sleep in late. After two hours you appear and James can take the detention for missing class. Agreed?" Sirius said.

"Sure." Dani said.

"Only because I need 5 more detentions to set the new Hogwarts record." James.

"Good. Now go get each other's robes." Sirius commanded. James went off to the Boy's dorm, while Dani watched him go.

"I swear that boy think's he's a muggle." Dani said while pulling out her wand. She then updated the robes she was wearing. When James got back, they switched clothes and went in different directions to change. Dani came back looking like she was going to drown in James' clothes and kept tripping over the pants. James on the other hand looked like the clothes had shrunk, and the skirt was barley covering anything. They each took the appropriate glass from Sirius and downed it without thinking. They both started to cough up the disgusting taste, but saw and felt the effects almost instantly.

Dani got taller and began to fill out her pants and robes more. Her long black hair started to shorten, and her dark skin started to lighten incredibly. Her boobs disappeared and became more toned and muscular. Also he hour glass figure vanished. Her eyes went from Brown to Hazel, and her hair began to stick up in every direction. James, on the other hand, began to get shorter. His hair became longer, smoother and went down to his waist. He also earned bangs. His well defined chest, shrunk in and he grew boobs. Also he grew curves and he earned an hour glass figure. His eyes changed color and he removed his glasses, being able to see without them for the first time in years. His skin had gone from pale, to a nice, rich, chocolate color. When both transformations were done, the two teens looked at each other. "So that's what I look like to everyone else!"

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**Well, there's Chapter 4! Sorry it took so long! But with uploading 2 stories, i also had writer's block. Well enjoy! And review to tell me if you like it, or what i can do to make it better! Love ya!**


	5. HP Author's Note!

_**What's up my fellow HP Luvers? Have you read the 7**__**th**__** Harry Potter book yet? And if you have, isn't it da bomb? Anyway this is an author's note, as you probably already know. First off, I want to say I love you all for reviewing and reading and leaving your thoughts and comments in the reviews. And I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever. It's actually kinda funny. I have like 100 and something favorites and I honestly am dying when the author's don't update for a while if it isn't finished. I'm an entirely impatient person, but yet, it takes forever for me to update. How strange is that? Anyway, I love you all and I swear that I'll try to update as soon as possible. Expect these things in the future: (warning: not in order)**_

Ana's makeover

Dani's Temperantrus explosion

Sirius' Chapter

Halloween

50th Annual Potter Summer Ball

A plan by Dani and James

A plan by Sirius and Lily

Dani's BIGGEST Secret

Hogwarts Express

_**Well, there you have it. A few things to look forward to in the future. Once again, I love you and thanks for reviewing!**_


	6. Chap 4The Charms Class

_**Hey, I'm back after months of writers block. You know how you have an awesome idea, but you don't know how to lead up to it? I'm a bit rusty so if it's bad, don't hate me!**_

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"Sirius, this is awesome! I have boobs, curves and a very nice arse!" James, who now looked like Dani, said while running his hands all over his now feminine body. Dani, who now looked like James, eyes widened and rushed to him, forcing his hands by his sides.

"Stop! Girls don't do that! Guys I'm not so sure about!"** (A/N James is in Dani's body, and Dani is in James' body. Remember that now or you'll get really confused by the character's actions) **James said while putting his hands on his hips. Now it was Dani's turn for her eyes to pop out of her head.

"Well, guys don't put their hands on their hips, so I guess we're even!" James reluctantly stood up straight and instead crossed his arms across his chest.

"Happy now?" He asked mockingly.

"Yes!" Dani said while placing her hands on his hips. 5 seconds later, she removed them. "It feels too weird!"

"What about me? How am I supposed to walk with this…thing?!" James said while motioning towards his pelvis.

"How am I supposed to walk without it?" Dani bantered back.

"Not to interrupt this heartfelt moment," Sirius said. "But since we don't have much time left before our next class, I think you guys should perfect each other's life's, starting with their walks. James, you first." James looked at Dani.

"Go!"

"I'm Dani remember? You're James now!" Dani said. James narrowed his eyes and glared.

"Shut up." He then walked toward the Common Room door and back. He actually wasn't too bad, except for tripping on the way back.

"My turn!" Dani said all girly-like. She then attempted to do something that could be called a strut. She swung her hips rather violently, seemed to be bent at an angle forcing her chest and butt to stick out and kept stumbling in her heels. "Well, how was that?" she said when she was done.

Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James looked at each other before falling backwards on the carpet, tears running down their faces, they were laughing so hard. If it wasn't for her dark skin, Dani would have blushed a deep red, but instead her cheeks turned the faintest color of pink. "Its not as easy as it looks you know!" She retorted while crossing her arms across her chest. James rolled his eyes, took off his robes, rolled up his sleeves and said,

"We got a lot of work to do."

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By the time it was time to go to their next class, Charms, Dani could walk, talk, and stand like a girl. She could even spin in heels. "Am, I good, or am I good?" She asked, right hip cocked to the side, right hand on it, one eyebrow raised, and a smirk on her face to rival that of a Weasley Twin. James threw her bag at her.

"I'd say don't get cocky, but I forgot it was you in there. Now remember James, you're not in your own body and neither am I. If you do anything to hurt my reputation, I'll do something 10 times as bad."

"Thank you mother." Dani said. "I'll be a perfect angel." James smiled and shook his head as the 5 walked out of the common room, Sirius placing a flask in each bag. When they got down to the classroom, they saw that Lily had also gotten there early. When Lily locked eyes with Dani, she sent a glare before turning on her heel to face the door. James sighed and Dani hugged him.

"When is she gonna forgive me?" James asked with a sigh. Sirius patted him on the back.

"Don't sweat it. She has to come around some time. I mean you do share a dorm with her." Lily of course, getting confused, looked back at the 5 to see them wave and hear a chorus of "Hey Evans." She rolled her eyes and turned back around. Before anything else could happen, the door was opened and inside was none other than Professor Flitwork, smiling up at them.

"Well, don't stand out in the hall. Come in, come in!" He said just as other students came around the corner. When the bell rang and finally everyone was seated, Flitwork just like every other teacher that day, said how it was so important, no essential, that they make the best of the year. Halfway through the speech, no one was listening. Even Lily had zoned out.

Her head was resting on her left palm, while the fingers on her right hand tapped the table. Usually when she was this bored, she'd be talking or writing notes with Dani. She glanced back and saw her in a heated discussion with Sirius, Remus, James and Peter, who looked like he was at least trying to comprehend what his friends were saying. James took this moment to look up and lock eyes with Lily. She prepared herself for a wink, a smirk, _**something, **_but instead she got a small smile, before he went back to his conversation. Lily turned back around and thought, _**"Potter, James Potter, James Michael Potter, just looked at me and didn't do anything. What's wrong with me?"**_

"Well, I'll split you into your groups and you can start your homework. Malfoy and Narcissa Black…Lupin and Smith** (A/N Ana's last name. Forgot to give her one)**…Pettigrew and Jones…Sirius Black and Craver…Chang and Carlson…and Evans and Potter."

"Oh damn." Said Lily.

"Oh shit." Said Sirius.

"Oh fuck." Said James.

"Oh hell." Said Dani.

"Well, you're wasting your time grumbling." Said Flitwork. "Hop to it." There was some grumbling as the students moved to sit with their partners.

"Good luck." James, Dani and Sirius said to each other as they stood up. Behind them they heard giggling that could only belong to one person.

"Come on Siri. We got "homework to do. Let's start with anatomy." And with that being said Ashley Craver dragged him away, Sirius groaning. "I know, me too!" She said excitedly.

"Why did he like her?" James asked through gritted teeth.

"She's easy and has a body." Dani said giving her a once over. James hit her on the back of the head.

"You. Are. A. Girl." He hissed in her ear. "Besides, watch out for Chang." They turned to see a cute, tall, Asian boy leaning against a desk and smiling innocently. "Don't let his smile fool you. He's a freak, a terrible kisser, and his hands can go from by his side to up a skirt in less than 3 seconds. Also his hands are really clammy and always cold." James shuddered and seconds later so did Dani.

"Thank you for the bad mental pictures."

"Whatever, just keep an eye on his hands." James said while pushing Dani towards him and walking towards Lily, who hadn't moved, let alone turned around since Flitwork assigned partners. He checked his watch and made a mental note to take the Polyjuice potion as soon as class ended. "So Evans. About that homework. I have no idea what it is."

"Do you ever know what the homework is?" Lily muttered under her breath.

"Rarely, but yes I do." Lily turned to look at him and arched an eyebrow at him. "Ears like a stag." James' eyes widened. "I mean ears like a bat because ears like a stag doesn't make sense. Right? So anyway, what about that homework?" James stuttered. Lily rolled her eyes and just started scribbling on a piece of parchment.

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"So Ashley. How ya been?" Sirius asked while rocking back and forth in his seat. He had always been awkward talking to one of his exes.

"It's been good. And you?"

"Okay I GUESS!" he said screaming the last word, making everyone in the room turn to look at him. He chuckled nervously and said "how's it going?" to them before turning sharply to Ashley, removing her hand from his upper thigh and said, "what the hell do you think you're doing?" A small pout formed across Ashley's glossed lips.

"Come on. We always used to do things like this in class. What's the matter with you?" She asked while crossing her arms and sitting back in her chair.

"Maybe it's the fact that we're not together anymore." After a few seconds he added, "And stop touching me!"

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"So Remus, ready to get started?" Ana timidly asked. Remus, who was as pale as a ghost just nodded and began to take out his books. "Remus, are you alright? You don't look well at all." Ana said while placing the back of one of her hands on his forehead. Remus felt warmer than he had in a while. He slowly removed her head and said,

"I'm fine. Me mum's still sick and I'm just worried about her is all. I'm going to see her tonight." Ana smiled and nodded.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be fine." With that she got out her parchment and began to write.

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Peter and Michelle just sat there awkwardly, wishing they were paired with someone else.

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"So Chang, how are you?" Christopher shrugged.

"Alright. Not much changed since last year. Same house, same friends, maybe a bit taller. What about you?" He asked.

"Pretty much the same thing." Dani responded before looking at the board to figure out what the homework was. _**'Dani was just over reacting. This Chang dude can't be more harmful than a fly.' **_Just then, she felt cold air blow against the back of her neck, causing the hair on her neck to stand up, she looked back over at Christopher to see him studying his Charms book with a serious expression, when he noticed Dani staring at him, he gave her a smile in return before instantly going back to his book. Dani shook her head and began to look for her book in her bag. As she was about to straighten up, she felt a breeze somewhere that she really shouldn't have. She straightened up to see that her skirt was just covering her underwear. She pulled it back down 6 inches, which is where it had been seconds before.

5 minutes later, her top buttons on her shirt came undone, and Chang had a smile on his face that he was failing at hiding. _**'Way more harm than a fly!' **_She thought franticly as she re-buttoned her shirt.

Not soon after, she felt something cold on her leg and noticed that it was Chang's hand, and it was slowly getting higher. He leaned into her while he massaged her inner thigh. "Hmmm. Just as soft as ever." He whispered in her. Dani almost busted out laughing.

'_**If only he knew exactly who was in this body. He'd be as scarred for life as I am now.'**_ Lucky for Dani, the bell rang signaling the end of class. While everyone gathered their stuff, he whispered again, "So wanna meet up later and," he winked. "Catch up?" Dani slapped Christopher across his face, before rushing out of the room.

"I don't wanna be the one to say I told you so, but I told you so!" James said while grinning. Dani glared as she smoothed her shirt, and straightened her skirt.

"Why'd you date him?" Dani asked James while placing her bag on her shoulders.

"The same reason why you weren't careful with him. Thought he was innocent, harmless, and that I'd have a good time with him. Big shocker when I found out the truth. Nothing but airhead playboy, who somehow got into Ravenclaw."

"Which was when?" Remus asked clearly amused by the whole thing.

"Like 10 minutes later." James said as they walked to their next class.

"Kelly, Did that dude just say he dated a guy?" A third year Gryffindor asked as they passed. Her friend hit her on the shoulder.

"No genius, you must have heard wrong. That was The James Potter, tied with Sirius Black for Hogwarts #1 Hottie, aka a _**Legend. **_Why would he date a guy, Brittany? No wonder you're not in Ravenclaw." Kelly said while walking off in a huff.


	7. The Detention,The Accident,and the Truth

_**See, I'm nice. I'm updating twice!**_

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"Now, all you do is listen to McGonagall, do the work, drink the potion and _**do not, speak, to, Evans.**_" Dani said during dinner that night. After dinner Dani as James, would serve detention while the real James went with Remus.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. Don't listen to a word McGonagall says, sit there and do nothing but burp the alphabet, don't drink the Polyjuice potion and tell Lily all about Remus' "furry little problem"." James said while clasping his hands together, blinking, and smiling innocently.

"I think she's got the plan down." Sirius said while grinning. Dani stepped on his foot.

"I'm serious, Dani." He was interrupted by Sirius.

"No, you're not. I'm Sirius!" Remus, Peter, and Dani rolled their eyes at the old as ever joke while James chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," Dani continued. "Don't screw this up, because if you do, not only will we suffer, but you'll be letting out Remus' secret as well. And parents knowing that a werewolf is around their children is terrifying enough." Dani said while whispering the last part.

"Now why don't you ever let Lily see this side of you? The sweet, caring, and loyal side your friends see. Why must you always show off in front of her and be cocky?" James asked while sucking a Sugar Quill he pulled out of his pocket. Dani shrugged.

"I try, but force of habit, you know?" Just then Lily walked by on her way to detention. She didn't even glance at the 5. James got up.

"Well, I'm off to spend the next hour with the bitch from hell. Wish me luck."

"Good or bad?" Sirius said while grinning cheekily, not missing a beat. James smiled before departing, leaving the 4 boys alone. "James, maybe you wanna go to the bathroom now." Sirius said while pulling Dani up to a standing position, which he had taken seconds before, from where she had been leaning down to eat. Dani arched an eyebrow.

"Why, I'm not done eating, and I'm Dani." She said while trying to sit back down, but this time both Sirius and Remus yanked her back up.

"You really should go to the bathroom now, James." Remus said while steering her towards the door.

"Why?"

"Because no person's hair can shrink at that rapid of a pace, and Dani's legs are not hairy." Remus responded while pushing him out of the door, so no one could see how rapidly Dani was changing. Sure enough, once they were out of eyeshot of everyone in the Great Hall, Dani shot up, her hair stuck up in odd directions, her chest was toned again, arms more muscular, and her brown eyes turned Hazel. James pulled the Invisibility Cloak from his robes, got under it, and after a few minutes, he was dressed in his normal robes.

"Good to see you back to your old self, buddy. Watching you walk down the halls and getting aroused by it, was wrong on too many levels to count." Sirius said while clapping him on the back. James smiled weakly as the 4 got under the Invisibility Cloak, and snuck out into the night.

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"Evans, do we have to do this? Can't we take a break?" Dani, disguised as James, whined for about the 40th time in 10 minutes. They had to organize McGonagall's, Snape's, and Flitwork's homework, assignments, and staff forms, no magic. In simplest terms, boring. Lily rolled her eyes.

'_**If it wasn't for him deciding that every comment that comes out of his mouth has to be a dirty one, we wouldn't be in this mess in the 1**__**st**__** place.' **_Lily thought as she sorted a 3rd Year's paper in T for Troll. She heard a sigh and then some papers falling. She turned around to see that James had pushed all the papers that he had been sorting on a table on the floor. She also saw that the reason why he had forced everything onto the floor, was so he could lie on his backside on the table.

"99 bottles of Firewhiskey on the wall, 99 bottles of Firewhiskey, take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of Firewhiskey on the wall." He sang.

"Potter?" Lily said in a sweet voice that she hadn't used to talk to James since they were 12. James lifted his head slightly to look at her.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Shut the hell up." She said before turning back to her work earning a groan from James. There was silence for a good while, except for James' drumming fingers on the table. When Lily had finished her stack of papers, so turned around to look at James, who had just taken a flask out of his pocket, and was drinking from it, while making a face that clearly said that he wanted to hurl it back up. "Do you actually plan on sorting the papers you threw on the floor?" James sat up, looked at the ceiling for about 5 seconds as if he was thinking, and said,

"No. I didn't really plan on that." He then flashed her one of his award winning smiles that made about half of the female population swoon. She scoffed, rolled her eyes, and went over to pick up the papers, James rolling over on his stomach to watch her.

"She didn't mean it, you know." Startled, Lily dropped the papers she had been holding and looked at James.

"What?" she asked as she gathered the work again.

"She didn't mean it. Dani. You know the whole dream thing, besides pretty much everyone's forgotten it by now. I mean you only got like what, 20 stares at dinner out of the 1,010 stares you got this morning? It was a mistake. A careless one on her account, but still a mistake. She wasn't even telling Ashley, she was telling me." Lily rolled her eyes at that.

"Okay, so instead of revealing it to one of my enemies, she revealed it to a different one, and the other happened to hear and proclaim it to the school. For some reason, your little speech isn't making me feel any better." Lily stormed back over to her table, and began sorting, both grimacing at when the detention would end.

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"Now I hope that something like that will never happen again. Not only was I embarrassed for you, but you shamed the entire Gryffindor House." McGonagall was reading them the riot act now that all the work was done and the detention was over. Lily had her head down, and was looking at her shoes, while wave of guilt after guilt washed over her. James was also looking at the floor, but that was because he was half asleep and trying to stay awake was harder than it seemed. When McGonagall had let them go, and they were out the door, James let out a yawn.

"Well, I'm gonna go to bed. Care to join me?" James said while winking at her. Lily rolled her eyes and entered the loo across the hall. Lucky she did when she did, because at that moment, James began to change. His hair began to get longer and smoother, more manageable. He also began to get shorter, and grew curves. By the time she had reached the Gryffindor Tower, Dani was stumbling in James' large clothes. Opening her dorm door, she saw Ana, Molly, and Alice getting ready for bed. They took in her clothes, and opened their mouths to ask when Dani stopped them by holding out a hand. "Don't." she then grabbed her PJ's from on top of her bed and went into the bathroom.

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'_**Maybe I did overreact, I mean if it really was an accident.' **_Lily thought as she washed her hands. She rolled her eyes as her logic argued with her. _**'Wow, I must be tired. I'm siding with Potter of all people.' **_She walked out in a huff and started up the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. As she went she passed a window. It was a huge glass one, and she could see that the sky and the grounds looked just like it did during her dream last night. She shuddered at the thought of James' hands and lips on her skin. She was about to keep moving, when a shadow caught her eye. She squinted and tried to see it clearer, but she couldn't.

She knew that she should just ignore it and go before Flich or someone else caught her, but her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself rushing towards the entrance doors and outside, gripping her wand tightly. The cold night air hit her like a knife, and she silently cursed herself for not wearing a cloak, and only her robes. She looked around and listened tentatively, but only got the howling of the wind. She turned back around to enter the school, when behind her she heard a low growl. From the lights coming from the windows in the school, she could see the shadow of a massive creature standing behind her, breathing heavy. She turned to face it, realizing that it was a full-grown werewolf.

'_**Fuck, fuck, fuckitty, fuck, fuck.' **_She thought as she tried to think of a way to run without it eating her alive. When she couldn't find one, she just decided to run anyway. She had almost reached the door when it caught her. Lily cried out in pain as its nails sank into her sides, and its breath tickled her ear. _**'Just like in my dream, but this time no James, I mean Potter, to save me.' **_She thought desperately as its teeth skimmed her neck and she felt blood slide down. She shut her eyes as tears slipped out. Just when she knew it was going to bite her, she heard that of hooves and felt the weight lift off her. She opened her eyes and saw that a giant stag had knocked it off of her. Beside the stag had appeared a bear-like dog, the size of the Tiger standing next to it.

The 4 animals all seemed to be having a staring contest, 3 against one. The side that breaks first, dies. Lily knew that she should be getting up and trying to get help for her loss of blood, but was having trouble doing so. She seemed mesmerized by the scene. Finally it seemed like the werewolf lost because all 3 animals charged at him. The stag held him back while the dog and tiger bit at his legs. While the tiger and dog distracted the werewolf, the stag walked over to Lily and got down on his legs. Lily understood that it wanted her to get on it's back. Slowly, and painfully, she climbed on its back.

It immediately sprang to life and rushed towards the castle. When it reached the door, it turned sideways, letting Lily reach out to open the door. When she did, it walked inside and got back down on its legs, letting Lily off. When he stood up straight again, Lily petted and thanked him before going towards the stairs. But because she had lost so much blood by the time she got to the 1st stair, she had begun to pass out. As her vision grew darker and darker, she heard voices that sounded familiar, but she was too tired to place names with them. Finally as if heavens angels had heard her silent pleas, she lost consciousness.

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"Is she awake now?"

"No more than she was the last time you asked, 5 minutes ago, Ms. Carlson."

"Are you sure she wasn't bitten and that she'll have no side affects whatsoever?"

"Yes Mr. Potter, now stop pacing, and get back into your bed. You yourself are still healing from saving her last night. In fact, all of you should be as sound asleep as Ms. Evans is." Madam Pomfrey said as she walked over to Sirius' bed. The night before, he, Dani, and James carrying Lily, came in the Hospital Wing, covered in bruises, sweat, dirt, and blood. When asked what happened, they claimed that they hadn't been able to sleep and had been looking out the Common Room Window when they saw Lily and a werewolf. Lily couldn't confirm her story, because she had yet to wake up from her unconscious state.

"You don't know how lucky and fortunate you 4 are. I mean really, 3 under age students taking on a full-grown werewolf. I wouldn't have been surprised if they had found bits of you scattered all over the grounds this morning." She said as she changed the bandages on Sirius' chest.

Sirius had scratches that were about 2 inches deep on his chest, he had black eye, and had also broken his arm. Dani, like Sirius had gotten 2-inch skin-deep scratches, except hers were on her back. She had also broken her ankle. James, had gotten more starches than both Sirius and Dani, on his chest, back, arms, and legs, but because they weren't that deep, or that huge like theirs, they weren't too serious.

Occupying another bed was Remus, who looked worse than all of them. He like Lily was still asleep, except he looked pale beyond medical attention. He was battered and bruised and had been bleeding worse than Lily had from her neck, and both sides. His breathing was ragged as if he was having problems making it stay steady. Just then they heard rather than saw movement from Lily's bed. Madam Pomfrey rushed over when she let out a cry of pain and so did Dani, now that Madam Pomfrey had fixed her ankle. Lily opened her eyes and slowly took in her surroundings. Madam Pomfrey standing over her with a bottle of some potion, Dani smiling weekly, James sitting up in the bed next to her, Sirius attempting to sit up in the bed on his other side, and on her other side she saw someone who she couldn't recognize. It was too much to handle at once, and she slipped back into darkness.

"You said she was fine!" Dani and James yelled at her, but when the older woman glared at them, they murmured their apologizes and sat back down on their beds.

"She is fine, now hush up!" Madam Pomfrey left to go to the back room, just as Peter entered through the doors.

"Is Lily awake yet?" Peter asked while licking what had probably been a doughnut off his fingers. Sirius, Lily and Dani shook their heads.

"Pete, come over here. We need to talk." James said. Peter swallowed and waddled over. When Peter was seated on the edge of his bed, and Dani and Sirius were looking at him, he sighed before saying, "I think we should tell Evans everything." There was a moment of silence, before there were complaints.

"Have you lost your mind?"

No way!"

"James, Lily hates your guts! Telling her you're an unregistered Animangi, is basically like giving up Dumbledore to the enemy!" James held up his hands telling them to stop.

"Hear me out. Don't you think she's gonna wonder who the animals and werewolf were? Lily's smart, okay, it won't take long for her to figure out who they were. And I'd rather have her hear it from us now, then from the Ministry of Magic, later." The 3 had to agree with his reasoning.

"Let me break it to her, and slowly." Dani said after about a moment of silence. "I mean, she doesn't really know you guys that well, and since at the moment, I'm the closet thing she has to a best friend, I'll be less of a victim." Just then there was more movement from Lily's bed. She woke up once more, but this time she forced herself to stay awake. She saw Dani shuffling her feet, and grinning sheepishly at her. Lily shyly smiled back.

"How ya been, Lils?" Dani asked while sitting in the chair next to her. Lily shrugged.

"Good I guess. You?" She asked while sitting up.

"Good, I guess." She replied. After a couple moments of silence, they both started talking.

"I'm sorry-"

"No, it was my fault-"

"I overreacted-"

"I shouldn't have been talking about you in the first place." The two girls hugged each other, before Dani hissed in pain. "Scratches. Still painful." Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Scratches? From what?" Dani sighed and looked down.

"Lily, I'm an illegal Animanigi. I can turn into a tiger."


	8. Forgiveness and What James Broke

"Temperantrus say what?" Lily asked.

"Dani!" Sirius yelled from his bed. When she turned to look at him, he shook his head no. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Lily.

"I can turn into a tiger. Illegally." She added after a second thought. Lily was speechless.

"How long?" She said from lack of having anything else to say.

"Halfway through 5th Year?" She said with a shrug. Lily licked her front teeth with her tongue, and nodded.

"MADAM POMFREY!" Lily yelled at the top of her lungs. "Madam POM-" Lily's mouth was covered as she was dragged out of the Hospital Wing, and into the hall. She bit down on the hand covering her mouth, and James let a yelp.

"Ow! Merlin, Evans. I'm not food. You don't have to bite so hard." James said while his hand. Lily tried to run for it, but Dani stopped her by forcing her against the wall.

"Lily, don't make me hurt you. Now listen, this is the reason why I didn't tell you. I knew you would overreact and blow this way out of portion. Now, we can go back in the Hospital Wing, The Marauders and I can explain this whole mess, and you don't tell a soul until the day you die. Or, I could kill you in a heartbeat. Which will it be?" Lily let out a breath, causing her bangs to fly up. "I thought so." Dani said while backing up. Lily stomped back inside and plopped down on her bed, folding her arms. Sirius had gotten up along with Peter, and stared at James and Dani waiting for an explanation. Dani and James looked at each other, and James took a step back.

"She's your best friend."

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One hour, one groggy Remus waking up, and one _Muffliato _spell on Madam Pomfrey later, Lily knew the whole story. Remus being bitten as a child, the studying, the practicing, the trips, all of it. _**'Wow. Never knew Potter and Black knew how to read. And Peter? Please.' **_ Lily thought.

"So, will you keep Remus' secret, or send me, James, Sirius, and Peter to jail, and Remus into exile for the rest of his life?" Dani asked once she was done. Lily looked next to her and saw Remus with his head in his hands. She got off her bed, sat next to him, and removed his hands. He slowly looked her in the eye and sighed before attempting to look back down.

"No." Lily said. "Remus, you're my friend, and besides it's not like you asked for this. Your secret's safe with me." She hugged him, and after a second of hesitation, he hugged back, just as strong. 

"So, who's hungry?" Sirius said, causing all of them to look at him. "What? We haven't eaten since dinner last night, and that was ages ago. I'm starving!"

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The next day, it was as if the whole fight between Dani and Lily never happened. They were as chatty as ever. "Not to interrupt, but Dani, do you still want to be Beater on the Quidditch Team?" James asked at Breakfast.

"Do you still want to be Seeker?" Dani asked. James turned to Sirius.

"Ditto." He said while building a waffle tower.

"No need for tryouts then. The whole team's still here till next year." James said while stretching and unconsciously fluffing his hair. The next weeks were filled with Quidditch, school, pranks, family, and of course, relationships. James was begging to go crazy with the practices, booking the field every night. It went so far that the other six members on the team had to hold him at wandpoint before he agreed to calm down. Dani didn't mind so much, considering the fact that Sirius would let her ride on his back after each practice.

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"Smith to Kelly of Hufflepuff, intercepted by Gryffindor! Looks like Kelly's trying to steal it back, oooh! Nice bludger from Black! Gryffindor's going for the goal, SCORE! 10 points to Gryffindor!" River Abbot, a Ravenclaw Quidditch enthusiastic, was commentating the first Quidditch Match of the season, and Gryffindor was leading by now 80 points, and the Hufflepuffs were getting more discouraged by the second.

"Alright team. We've got them right where we want them. Hit them hard, and hit them low. Carlson, Black, don't let the chasers near the goals. As long as they don't threaten to sue, keep hitting the bludgers their way. Jones, watch the Quaffle like a Hawk. Don't let it in. Cerves, Jonz, Peterson, keep flying like you are, and don't lose concentration." James was lecturing the team during a time out. Lily, in the stands, had a book. Remus and Peter sat next to her, Remus smiling as he watched James pace the ground below.

"Such a strong competitor he is. If he keeps this up, he's gonna send the entire Hufflepuff team to the Infirmary." Just as Remus said that the time out ended and Sirius and Dani flew his way.

"If he keeps this up, he's gonna send the entire Gryffindor team to the Infirmary." Sirius said while rubbing his right shoulder, which had begun to hurt.

"BLACK! CARLSON! TALK LATER! RIGHT NOW GET YOUR LAZY BUMS UP HIGHER AND HIT SOME BALLS!" Sirius cracked a grin at that, as did half of the stands.

"YOU KEEP YELLING AT ME POTTER, AND I'M GOING TO HIT SOME BALLS ALRIGHT!" Dani yelled back before she and Sirius flew off in opposite directions. James shook his head and continued his search for the snitch.

"Potter seems to be having problems finding the snitch. Usually after the first hour, he's got it locked down. Who knows maybe he's losing his touch. Is it time for the Gryffindor Captain to reti-" He was stopped in the middle of his sentence when a red flash passed inches from his face. He looked across the field to see James with his wand out. "Cerves has the Quaffle and he's going for the Hufflepuff goal…" James grinned while placing his wand back in his robes.

'_**Come on, little gold ball. Where are you?" **_As if the snitch itself heard him, it appeared feet in front of his face, and reached for it, missing by inches.

"Looks like Potter's located the snitch. And it also looks like Lawson's located Potter." Abbot was dead on about Lawson. Eric Lawson, the 7th Year Hufflepuff Seeker, was tailing James, knowing that he had seen the snitch. Everyone in the crowd had gone quiet, as well as those who had actually been playing. James and Eric both leaned in hands outstretched. James having longer limbs, looked like he was going to grab it and that came apparent to one of the Hufflepuff beaters.

Just as James' fist curled around the snitch, Amos Diggory hit a bludger at him dead in the back, causing him to fly forward, and Sirius and Dani to send bludgers his way. The entire Gryffindor Team flew down and surrounded him, repeatedly asking if he was alright. James grinned and tried to sit up, but laid back down and groaned from the unbearable pain.

"Good god, James. What did you break this time?" Dani asked out of mock annoyance. "The 1st match of Second Year you broke your arm, The 1st match of Third Year you broke your leg, 1st match of Forth Year you broke _**my **_leg, and last year, What did he break last year?" Dani said while turning to Sirius.

"He fractured his skull." Sirius said grinning at the memory.

"Oh yeah. That was nasty. There was blood everywhere. Wasn't that your fault?" She asked.

"Who cares, it was so long ago." Sirius said while not maintain eye contact.

"Please figure out who almost killed me later. Right now get me some help!" James said from the ground. McGonagall and Dumbledore pushed their way in front and hurriedly put him on a stretcher and carted him off to the Hospital Wing. Nixon Jonz, a Third Year Chaser, twisted his broom in his hands.

"So did we win?"

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"You fractured your spine?" The entire Gryffindor Quidditch Team asked a smiling James. They were in the Infirmary and it was around 6. Everyone was either at dinner or at the party in the Common Room.

"Yep. I get to stay here for a week, and then in the Common Room for another week." He tried to fold his hands behind his head, but hissed as a jolt of pain went through him. "Ow, ow, ow."

"Aww, does the big bad Seeker need some comfort?" Remus, Sirius and Dani all asked at once, causing three girls who they hadn't seen before to rush forward and start waiting on him.

"Damn. Were either of you being serious?" Remus asked.

"Nope."

_**Hey guys! Just wanted to say thanks for sticking with me. In the next chapter, Dani and James create a plan. DUM! DUM! DUM!**_


	9. A Plan by James and Dani

_**Sorry bout not updating for a while. School and all. But, that's no excuse. The fact that I'm a procrastinator and very lazy is my excuse. So enjoy. And review. Please?**_

It was almost sunset one night in Mid November, and Dani was sitting in a back corner in the library, instead of at diner with everyone else. She was working on a potions essay, or at least trying to. Slughorn was really beginning to pile them down with the homework. It was warm in the castle, so she had taken off her outer robes, and her gray sweater, the sleeves of her pressed white shirt rolled up to her elbows. Her textbook and parchment were in front of her, while she was unconsciously scribbled on her notebook. It took about a minute before she realized she had been rereading the same sentence over and over again.

She heard the floorboard creak just behind her chair, and she whipped around to see no one there. She turned back towards her work and was going to write a new sentence, when a low, seductive voice whispered in her right ear, "Dani, you of all people should know that things are not always what they appear." James Potter pulled the Invisibility Cloak off of him and sat down next to her.

"James Potter is in a library. The fact that he knows where the library is even more astonishing." Dani said while writing another sentence on the parchment, and rolling it up.

"Every now and then, I date a smart chick. The dark, back corners like this one are quite useful." Dani rolled her eyes and James grinned.

"You know hitting on girls is not the way to win Lilly's heart." James stopped grinning at this.

"It's all that stupid games' fault. If we hadn't played, I wouldn't have kissed that girl and Evans wouldn't hate me right now." James sighed while putting his head on the table.

"Lily hates you because you show off, hex Slytherins, and are a complete player. Sirius and I can't hate you because we're guilty of the same things. Remus is your voice of reason and if it weren't for him, you would have been expelled a long time ago. Peter is a tag along so he goes with whatever. Lily doesn't know that you are actually sweet because the only side she sees is the arrogant one." Dani said while running a hand through his hair.

James blew out air and looked at the table, which was covered in Dani's papers. His eyes spied her red notebook, which was covered in black writing. Dani saw what he was looking at, and grabbed it before he did.

"No. Back off. It's mine." Dani said while holding the book tightly to her chest.

"Come on Fireyes. Let me see. Please?" James wined like a little kid.

"No Prongs. It's personal." James crossed his arms and sat back in the chair. Dani placed the notebook back on the table seconds before he grabbed it and stood up, keeping it out of reach.

"James, give it back!" Dani said jumping up and down trying to reach it. Getting hushed by the librarian was the last thing on her mind.

"So you do like Sirius! I knew it! Mrs. Sirius Black. Mrs. Black. Mrs. Danielle Black." James said reading the cover. Dani lunged at him, and he ducked out of the way and started running through the aisles, Dani on his heels.

'_**Maybe making them run laps during Quidditch practice was a bad idea.' **_James thought as he ran faster, to no avail. Then, Dani tackled James with a tackle that any American Football player would have been proud of. The two rolled for a while, finally ending with Dani on top of James, straddling his hips, her hands on either side of him to stop her from falling completely on top of him. James' hands were on her hips. Both James and Dani were breathing heavily, looked quite disheveled, and for the time being had completely forgotten about the notebook that lay next to them, and were instead concentrating on how close they were.

"You do know that if we get caught in this situation, the person would think that we were doing something sexual and naughty." James said while wiggling his eyebrows. Dani sighed in relief that they had escaped that tension.

"You randy git."

"And yet, you're still on top of me." He added. Dani rolled her eyes and got off him, picking up her notebook and placing it in her lap.

"So, you do like Sirius. Why don't you tell him?" James asked, sitting cross-legged next to Dani.

"Oh yeah, right. Hey Sirius, guess what? I've had a crush on you since 2nd Year and now I think I might love you? How psycho does that sound?" James nodded.

"Good point." Dani stared at him for a second, as if trying to figure him out. She moved closer to him and took his face in her hands.

"James, I've known you forever, but tell me the truth. Why do you keep chasing Lily even though she's rejected you so many times? You've never tried this hard to get a girl before. Do you honestly like Lily, or do you just want her for another one-night stand?" James moved her hands from his face and placed them in his own.

"To tell you the truth Fireyes, I don't know what it is. I mean when we were younger, it was just a little crush, but now, it's unexplainable. I've never felt like this about any other girl I've dated. And seeing her with other guys, just makes me insane with jealousy." Dani gasped.

"That it." James looked confused.

"What's it?"

"Jealousy!"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Think stupid! Jealousy is something that you, me, Lily and Sirius all have in common. We get jealous easily." Dani said while grinning.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Dani felt like strangling him.

"I'm beginning to think that Lily was right about you being an airhead. Now, who's the one person in the world who you would hate to see Lily date?" James answered immediately.

"Every guy on this planet."

"Be serious."

"But I'm not-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Dani said covering his mouth with her hand. "Now really. Who would you murder on contact if she dated?"

"Lucius Malfoy?"

"No."

"Remus?"

Try again."

"Sirius, but-"

"Bingo! Now reverse the situation. Who would Lily hate to see you with?"

"You." James grinned, seeing it mirror on Dani's face.

"Mr. Potter, I think it's time we put our acting skills to the test."

"I couldn't agree more Ms. Carlson."

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"So we're clear on the plan, right?" Dani asked. She and James were standing in front of the Fat Lady, who seemed a bit annoyed that she had been woken up, just to have the students stand there and talk to each other. James wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"Make Sirius and Lily insane with jealousy by being the hottest couple on the market, right?" He said leaning foreword towards Dani.

"Right." James kissed her forehead and took her hand in his.

"Ready?" Dani took a deep breath.

"As I'll ever be. You nervous?"

"Yep. You?" James asked while rolling up his sleeves, as if preparing for a duel and in a figurative way, he was.

"Like hell." They turned to the Fat Lady and James said, "Sir Nicholas.", revealing the Common Room and the seven people they wanted to see. The Marauders, Lily, Molly, Ana, and Alice. The two entered and walked toward the group huddled by the fire. Remus was the first to notice their arrival.

"Where have you two been? Dani you completely missed diner, and James you left halfway through it." Remus' comment momentarily brought everyone out of what they were doing.

"I went looking for Dani here and I found her in the library. Guess we uh, lost track of time." James said playing the part perfectly and grinning at Dani who looked down and giggled. Everyone officially knew something was up. James and Dani would flirt, but never like this.

"Yeah. He helped me with my homework. He's not a bad teacher." Dani said while discreetly looking at Lily, who had a look of shock. Sirius was wearing a look of anger. Peter, being who he is, asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Are you guys together?" James and Dani grinned at each other. This was too easy.

"Well, we have known each other for ever, and we do have a lot in common, so we figured why not give it a shot." James said while untangling their hands and wrapping his arm around her waist, earning a gasp from Alice and Molly. Remus let out a whistle, and motioned for him and Peter to go up to the dorms. Lily kept her head down, and her eyes on her parchment.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm beat." Dani said while starting towards the steps, but was stopped by James pulling her back. Then, in plain view of everyone, he kissed her. Not a quick kiss, but a slow, sweet lingering kiss.

"Good night." He said.

"Good night." She said in return before skipping up the stairs two at a time. Molly, Ana and Alice had gone off into a corner and were quietly whispering. James jumped on the couch, next to Sirius, folding his arms behind his head and grinning at the fire. Lily's eyes had yet to move.

"So," Sirius said while trying not to sound strained. "Wha-what made you ask out Dani?"

"Actually it was you." Sirius chocked on his spit.

"Me? What did I do?"

"When we took the Polyjuice Potion a while back. You said that we knew everything about each other and well, sometimes friends can lead to more than friends." He chuckled. "Man is she something."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we were snogging in a corridor, and let's just say if Mrs. Norris hadn't come around the corner, we definitely would have ended up shagging against the wall." Sirius couldn't take it anymore. He got up, and angrily stomped up the stairs, Lily mimicking his actions, and starting up towards the girl dormitories. James leaned back, looked at the dying embers, and thought, _**'easy as pie.'**_

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'_**That bitch, that slut, that backstabber! How can she possibly do this to me?' **_Lily thought as she climbed the stairs towards her dorm. She opened the door to find Dani sitting on her bed, humming and brushing her hair. She was wearing her blue pyjamas that James had given her for her birthday the previous year. They were blue spaghetti strap shirt, and blue short shorts. When she heard the door open, she jumped up and dragged Lily to her bed.

"So. What do you think?" She asked.

"About what? James?" Lily asked pretending to be oblivious.

"No, potions. OF course about James! Well, what do you think about me dating him?"

"I don't know Dani. I mean, the guy is my worst enemy." Dani let out a huff.

"Oh, don't you dare make this all about you! This isn't about your feelings towards him, but mine. And it would be nice of my best friend were more supportive." _**'I've got her eating out of my hand.' **_Dani thought while keeping a straight face.

"Sorry Dani, and you're right. You should be able to date whoever you want," Lily let out probably the world's biggest sigh here. "Including James Ruddy Michael Potter." Dani smiled.

"Thanks, Lils! And you also have to promise to tolerate him."

"Nope, sorry. Can't do that." Lily said while getting up and walking towards her trunk.

"Oh, come on! It's not like you have to hold hands with him, and be all buddy buddy. But no more ignoring him for no reason, kicking him in his privates, or scowling if he looks at you."

"What if he hits on me?"

"Believe me honey. When he's got all this, he won't need to." Dani dodged a pillow thrown at her. "I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that he'll be to busy staring at moi, to stare at you. Deal?" Lily stood still and thought for a while, her back to Dani, who was crossing her fingers.

"If he hits on me, I'm hexing him into the next century."

"Fair enough."

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"That bastard, that manwhore, the prat, that, that, Remus I need another bad word to call James!" Sirius said while pacing the length of the room. Lucky for him, Remus had soundproofed the room ahead of time. Peter was on his bed, his face in his hands. Remus, as usual, was reading a book. He sighed and lowered it.

"Why is Dani dating James such a bad thing?" _**'As if I didn't already know the answer.' **_He thought.

"Because, because, I don't know." He said while punching the wall.

"Come on, Black. We know it's because you like her." Peter said. Sirius glared at him before walking over to the window.

"I don't what it is. I mean, it's probably just an overprotective, big brother thing, but the thought of her being with James is, is," To show how angry he was, he punched the wall again, this time leaving a dent. "Remus, how could he do this to me? I'm his best friend. How could he steal my girl like that?"

"Technically, she's not really your girl since you never actually dated her." The scowl Sirius sent in his direction had him adding to his comment. "Well, they're both players like you, so who's to say that the relationship will last long?" Remus said trying to calm his friend down. Sirius saw sense in his friend's words, and went over to his bed.

"You're right, Moony. By tomorrow, they'll have completely broken up."

Unfortunately, Sirius was wrong. By the next morning, thanks to Ana and mostly Alice and Molly, the whole school knew about James and Dani going out. When they entered the Great Hall the next day, all eyes turned to them.

"Wow. That was fast even for Hogwarts standard." Dani said.

"Well, why don't we give 'em something to talk about?" James said back. He spun Dani around, dipped her low, and kissed her, earning groans from all the guys, moans from half of the girls, and cheers from the rest. When they came up for air, they were both grinning.

"Remus." Sirius said from his spot at the table.

"Yes?" Remus asked while lifting his head from his plate.

"I hate you."


	10. A Fight at The Lake

**God, i'm the worst writer ever! I mean seriously. Who keeps their readers waiting this long? Well anyway i'm so sorry! please keep reviewing! Enjoy! **

**PEace, luv and hairgrease!**

Chap. 8-The fight at the lake

"I think everyone's convinced that we're actually dating." Dani whispered so only James could hear.

"Well that was the whole plan, no?" He grinned while dipping her back up and walking towards their friends. Remus and Peter were shocked, Lily annoyed, Molly, Alice, and Ana beamed with pride, and Sirius looked furious as hell.

"So, you two are still together." Sirius said while looking at Remus.

"Yeah, we are." James said while reaching towards the eggs, bacon, and the pumpkin juice. "Is that a problem?" Sirius scoffed.

"No. No problem here. Everything's perfect mate. Nice score, by the way."

"Excuse you?" Dani said interrupting. "Potter here hasn't "scored" anything, and he won't anytime soon." She passed a rolled up piece of parchment to Lily, who unrolled it, sighed, and signed in several places, before handing it back. James read it over her shoulder, and Sirius read it upside down from where he was sitting across from Dani.

"I, Lillian Alexandria Evans, promise to tolerate James Michael Potter. I promise to not kick him, call him names just because I'm annoyed, (if I'm angry then it's fine), to not deflate his ego unless necessary and to not scowl at him with a simple look. I promise to not always just assume that he is wrong about absolutely everything, even though in my eyes he is. I also promise to try to hold my tongue about him for my best friend's sake. Lily Evans."

"What is that, mission impossible?" Peter and Sirius said at the same time.

"Evans, are you under the Imperius Curse? Is that how Dani made you sign this?" Lily's hand gripped her wand on the table. Dani noticed, as did Remus who was sitting beside her.

"Lily." Dani warned.

"Potter, the contract is prohibiting me from speaking my mind and true feelings." She said in a rush. Sirius jumped up, unable to take it anymore.

"I'm going to class." He said before walking out, hundreds of girl's eyes following him. When he got to potions, he took a deep breath and hit his head on the door. He then began to pace.

"I don't like Dani. This is just…big brother, over-protective feelings. I don't want James to hurt her. Yeah, that's it. I'm not jealous. I don't want her. I don't, I don't, I don't." He rambled to himself.

"You don't what?" the voice made him jump. He saw it was Dani.

"I…don't…want to um…take Slughorn's test. I don't want to take his test today." Dani nodded and took a step closer.

"Slughorn's test is next week." She said while crossing her arms. _**'Damn!'**_

"Must be thinking about someone else's." Dani was still getting closer, and Sirius was now against the door.

"No other teacher has warned us about a test." She was less than a foot away and Sirius was running out of excuses. Dani was the only one who could make him babble like an idiot.

"Sirius, are you alright? You don't look so good." She asked while placing the back of her hand against his forehead. Sirius's breathing was becoming irregular and quick. He began to act on impulse.

"No, I'm not alright." He said while pulling her body closer to his by her hips. Dani was taken back, but wasn't complaining.

"Well, what's wrong?" she asked. Her hands were now on his shoulders.

"I can't stop thinking about this one, gorgeous, completely amazing girl." He said leaning so close that his lips were only inches from hers.

"Who?" Dani whispered.

"Yo-" The door holding them up opened, and they fell in, Dani on top of Sirius. The lifted their heads to see Professor Slughorn staring down at them, smiling.

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew you two would end up together. I knew it. Flitwork owes me five galleons! Now when James and Lily get together-"

"You've got it all wrong Professor. I, we, she,. We're not…together." Sirius said quietly while helping Dani up. "My head was hurting and she was just checking for a fever. Besides, she's…dating…James." Sirius nearly spat out the last word. Slughorn's face fell and his cheek's became less rosy.

"Oh. I, I just assumed. Terribly sorry. To the both of you." Just then James walked in. Slughorn walked up to him. "And I apologize to you, Mr. Potter." He then walked over to his desk, leaving James, Remus and Peter confused. James walked to Dani and held her hand.

"What was that?" Dani shook her head.

"Don't ask, because you won't like the answer." She led him over to a table in a corner. Sirius sat next to James, Remus next to Sirius, Peter next to Remus, and Lily on the other side of Dani.

"Okay class. Today we will be making a Wolfsbane Potion. Does anyone know what it does?" Slughorn asked smiling. The whole class turned around to look at Lily, whose hand had shot in the air. When she saw everyone staring at her, she put it down and blushed to her roots of her hair.

"Miss Evans? The answer if you please?"

"It's to help control a werewolf during a full moon. It doesn't stop the transformation, it just helps control it, so they become less deadly." She muttered just loud enough for Slughorn to hear. He clapped his hands.

"Correct, as to be expected of course! Five points to Gryffindor!" The Slytherins groaned.

"He's the head of _our_ house, yet he's constantly awarding bloody points to them!" Lucius Malfoy whispered loudly to his girlfriend Narcissa Black, who nodded vigorously.

"If he keeps this up, there's no way we're going to win the house cup."

"Ms. Black, Mr. Malfoy. Is there anything you'd like to share with the class?" When they realized Slughorn was talking to them.

"No professor."

"Well then. See me tonight for detention and we can discuss it privately, eh?" The Gryffindors smirked, while the Slytherins glared at them.

The rest of the lesson was quite enjoyable. Lily, who true to her promise, was being quite civil to not only James, but the rest of the Marauders as well.

"Potter, would you hand me the Siylion Roots?" Lily asked while stirring her caldron intently.

"Su-sure, Evans." James said while handing her the roots. She took them without so much as a glance in his direction.

"I wasn't sure before, but I'm positive now. You put Lily under the Imperius Curse, didn't you?" Sirius whispered in Dani's ear. She shook her head.

"No, and believe me, I'm just as amazed as you are." The rest of the class, hell the rest of the school noticed that James and Lily weren't tearing each other's head's off by the end of the day. There were rumors about potions, bribery, yada, yada, yada. The six simply ignored it. Well, the Marauders and Dani ignored it, while Lily attempted, but not that well. She nearly lost it when someone hit her with a Thief's Downfall. **(If you're not sure what this is, check the Gringotts chapter in the 7****th**** book) **Dumbledore, seemed to find the whole situation humorous, and was seen wearing a small smile, as if he was hiding some kind of secret that no one else in the world knew. And the fact that he was Dumbledore proved that he did indeed know quite more than everyone else.

"Minerva, did you know that Mr. Potter was dating Ms. Carlson?" Dumbledore asked Minerva over dinner that night. McGonagall, who had been, reading over her lesson plans for the next day looked up.

"What?"

"Did you know that James was dating Dani?" McGonagall stared at him wide-eyed.

"Potter and Carlson? Well that doesn't seem right. What do you think?" Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a second before answering.

I think we should watch Mr. Black's actions as carefully as possible."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

Dumbledore and McGonagall weren't the only ones watching for what Sirius would do. Remus and Peter watched, as did Dani, James, and Lily, though none would ever admit to doing it. Sirius was watching his own actions as well. As he watched James and Dani feed each other food from across the table, he noticed his fists were clenched tightly underneath the table. He unclenched them, to find 4 half moons in the palm of each hand.

"Would you two knock it off already?" He suddenly said, startling everyone around them. Dani, who had been drinking from James cup, put it down to stare at him.

"Man, what's up with you?" James asked. Sirius glared, his blood boiling.

"It's you two. You're disgusting." Sirius said while standing up. James got to his feet as well.

"Why? Dani isn't my first girlfriend and you never had a problem when I did this with the rest. Why does it suddenly bother you?" Sirius was about to say something, but decided against it, and stormed out of the hall instead. James followed, as did everyone else.

Sirius went out the front doors and headed toward the lake. It was about 6:30 PM, and the sun had just begun to set, making a beautiful view over the grounds. Once he reached the lake, he took a few deep breaths, and closed his eyes to calm himself down. James turned him around to face him.

"What's with you?" James asked, eyes ablaze. _**'Come on, stupid. It's not that hard! Admit it!' **_he thought, sending messages to Sirius' brain with his mind. It appeared to work at first, cause he opened his mouth, but soon snapped it shut, and shrugged James' hands off his shoulders.

"Get off me man." He said while heading back towards the castle. The other 4 watched on in an anxious silence. James turned him back around to face him.

"Not until we're done talking."

"I said get off of me." By now both boys were staring at each other with fire in their eyes.

"And who's gonna make me?" They were dead silent for a while, during which Dani and Remus had each discreetly moved behind James and Sirius, ready to break them up when necessary. After about 10 seconds of quiet, James and Sirius charged at each other, rolling and wresting in the grass. Before they or the others could stop them, they rolled into the lake. They both broke the surface of the water, and still tried to fight each other before realizing that it was nearly impossible and settled for yelling insults at each other instead.

"Bastard!"

"Wanker!"

"Womanizer!"

"Like the bloody hell you aren't?" James retorted back. Sirius climbed out of the lake and shook most of the water off. With a final glare at James, he stomped back towards the castle. Dani and Remus sighed and helped James out of the lake, while Peter and Lily stared on awkwardly.

"Maybe us dating, wasn't such a good idea after all." Dani whispered in James ear when she thought Remus wasn't paying attention. James nodded and added back,

"I'm beginning to think the same thing."


	11. James and Sirius Makeup

_**Our 6**__**th**__** And 7**__**th**__** Year**_

_**Chap. 11-James and Sirius Make-up Weather They Like It or Not**_

It had been exactly one week since the fight at the lake, and Sirius and James still hadn't spoken despite pushing from Remus, Dani, and Peter. Lily could've cared less. "So they're not talking to each other. What's the big deal?" She asked when Dani groaned about it for what ,

"They've been friends, best friends, since they met on the train. That's 6 years of bonding broken within a total of about 10 minutes." Dani explained while pouring a glass of pumpkin juice. Lily shrugged.

"they're acting like toddlers. If their friendship was really that important, they wouldn't let someone like you get in the way." Dani narrowed her eyes.

"And what is that supossed to mean?" Lily's widened relizing what she had just said.

"That came out wrong. What I meant to say was, they wouldn't let someone as wonderful and amazing and terrific as you get in the way of a friendship. They need to grow up." James, who had been getting up from where he was sitting at the end of the table-Lily and Dani were in the middle-began to walk out of the hall as Sirius walked in. They both paused and seemed to be surveying each other. Sirius was first to speak.

"Potter." His voice was rock hard, his eyes, black stones. His face was smooth, though inside you could tell that he wanted to sneer at him, as if he were a Slytherin and not a housemate. James face was a perfect mirror.

"Black." They both stood there for a few seconds and everyone seemed to be holding their breath, anticipating the next move. Thankfully, they both just nodded and walked by each other, and Sirius sat in what had previously been James' seat. Dani let out another sigh and hit her head on the table repeatedly.

"I just feel so guilty." She said between hits.

"And how is giving yourself a concussion going to help?" Lily asked.

"It will let me forget about the terribile thing I've done. At least for a little while."

"If you really feel that bad, get up and fix it." Dani, whose head was halfway down to the table lifted it up to look at her friend.

"What?"

"You heard me. Your moping and groaning is worse than their pranks, and I didn't think anything was worse than that."

"But what should I do?" Dani asked. Lily raised an eyebrow, and apple in her hand.

"Do I look like I talk to those two? You, Remus and Peter know them best. I despise them. So don't ask me to help."

"Too late, my friend. You are as much a part of this as I am." Before Lily could protest, or even put the apple down, Dani had grabbed her, ran over to Remus and grabbed him, called Peter, and headed out fo the Great Hall and up the stairs. 2 days later, the 4 of them sat I nthe Griffindor Common Room in a circle by the fire.

"Everyone know what they're doing?" Remus asked while yawning. He checked his watch; it was after 2 am. They had been putting the finishing touches on the plan for about 4 hours. The other three nodded. Lily, who had wanted no involvement had been talked into the plan by Remus and Dani. She had her arms crossed and was wearing a pout.

"So, we'll meet in the Great Hall at 7 today, and start at around 7:15. Deal?" Dani said while placing her hand in the middle.

"Deal." Peter, who was directly across from her said as he covered her hand with his.

"Deal." Remus, who was on Dani's left, repeated while mimicking Peter's action. The three of them turned to look at Lily. After a few seconds of glaring from Dani, she sighed and stuck her hand out.

"Deal."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"James!" The black haired boy turned at the sound of his name. Running towards him was Dani.

"What's up?" She just smiled and handed him a folded note. She leaned up on her tippy toes, kissed him on the cheek, and skipped back in the direction she'd come. James watched her dissapear around the corner before heading into his next class. Once he was safely in his seat, he discretly opened the note under his desk.

_Dear Jamsie,_

_If you haven't figured it out already, it's Dani. Hi!_

_Anyway, at the end of class, meet me in the broom closet on the third floor for some more kissing practice. Hey, we do want to seem like a convincing couple right? _

_See you then, _

_Dani ;)_

_P.S. Be prepared to be late for your next class. Practice makes perfect, and this practice could take a while._

James grinned finished reading the note and put it in his pocket. If he wasn't so in love with her best friend, Dani probably would have been a pretty good match for him. He could completely see why Sirius liked, or at least lusted after her. He leaned back in his chair. He couldn't wait for the end of class.

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

_One…two…three…four…_Sirius was momentarily distracted by the note that suddenly landed in front of his face.

_Counting dust mites in the air again, Sirius? _

_-__**R**_

Sirius wrote back instanly.

_No. I'm trying to figure out how many brain cells Becky Stevers has left after her summer in the sun. So far I've got 4. I think that's it._

_-__**S**_

_Well good luck with that. Right now I have to leave, meet me by the broom closet on the third floor after class. _

_-__**R**_

_Why?_

_-__**S**_

_Why I have to leave, or why for the broom closet?_

_-__**R**_

_Both._

_-__**S**_

_I have to talk to Flitwork about work I missed because of last month's transformation._

_-__**R**_

_And the broom closet?_

_-__**S**_

_So I know where to find you. We have to discuss when to start your tutoring for Herbology, remember?_

_-__**R**_

_Oh yeah. See ya then._

_-__**S**_

Remus got up, walked to the front of the class handed a note to the teacher and exited without a backwards glance.

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"Professor?" Peter squeaked. Professor McGonagall turned to look at him.

"Mr. Pittigrew. You're early. No one usually shows up to their next class till about 1 minute before. You still have a good 6."

"I just wanted to inform you that James and Sirius might be a bit late to class. Or might just not show up." McGonagall arched an eyebrow.

"Why would they not show up?" Peter was very uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Because they are, or are attempting to work out their problems. If they don't kill each other. Which would really suck because then we'd need a new beater, seeker and captain for the Quidditch Team."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

_**BRIINNGG! **_

_James jumped out of his seat, and was out of the door before he knew it. He reached the third floor, and slowed down and started to walk towards the broom closet. When he reached it, he checked his clothes, checked his breath, and ruffled his hair. When he was sure he was ready, pulled open the closet, entered and shut it behind him. _

_"Dani?"_

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_"Where the hell is Remus? I'm the one who's supposed to be late, not him." Sirius was currently leaning against the door of the broom closet. He had been standing there for about 30 seconds and was already impatient, as was noticed by his tapping foot. Finnally, Sirius saw Remus coming towards him in what appeared to be a state of distress._

_"Where have you been mate?" Sirius asked when Remus was within 5 feet. Remus was twisting his hands and didn't answer. He was also looking at the floor and refused to maintain eye contact. Sirius noticed this and raised an eyebrow. _

_"You alright there mate?" _

_"Yeah. I'm fine. Why would you ask?" Remus said really fast. _

_"Really? Look me in the eye and say it." Sirius told him. Remus lifted his head, opened his mouth, and closed it again. He let out a sigh. _

_"Just promise me something, Sirius." _

_"Anything." _

_"That you'll forgive me for what I'm about to do." _

_"What are you about t-" Before Sirius could finish his sentence, Remus shoved him in the closet. "MOONY! Open this door!" Sirius shouted. He barely heard Remus performing a locking spell over his shouting. _

_"Sirius, I'm sorry. But remember, I'm doing this because I care." _

_"Well if you care about your "furry little problem", YOU'LL OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR!" _

_"Can't do that Padfoot. You'll thank me for this later." _

_"We'll see about that." Sirius leaned back against the closet door. Within seconds, the door was opening again and someone walked in. _

_"Dani?"_

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

Sirius recongnized the voice instantly. "Potter?"

"Black?"

"What are you doing here?" James crossed his arms in the dark.

"I'm supposed to be meeting Dani." Sirius winced at the sound of her name. "What are you doing here?"

"I was supposed to be meeting Remus to discuss my tutoring schuledge. But I'm begining to think that my grades weren't the real reason for this meeting."

"They want us to stop fighting." James said as he leaned against the door behind him.

"We're doing pretty well so far, don't ya think?" Sirius asked.

"Padfoot, I agree."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

_"Remus are you sure you got the charm right?" Remus let out a breath. _

_"Yes, Dani. The door will unlock as soon as they work out their problems." _

_"And if they don't?" _

_"Well, then when we go check on them after class, we'll see blood on the floor." _

_"Don't get my hopes up." Lily muttered under her breath. Dani elbowed her. _

_"How much longer till the end of class?" Peter asked. _

_"15 minutes Mr. Pittigrew. Now would you four stop talking and take notes? And if you are going to talk make sure that the teacher can't hear you, understand?" McGonagall said from her position at the front of the class, writing on the board. _

_"Yes, Professor." The four answered. _

_15 minutes later when the bell rang, they all bolted out of the room and toward the third floor. When they reached, the closet, the door was swinging open. _

_"Well, they're obviously not in here, so that means they worked it out. Right?" Peter asked. Remus shook his head. _

_"Not quite. The door could open two ways. They worked it out and it opened, or if someone else opened the door."_

_"So what you're saying is that someone could have heard them yelling at each other, let them out, and they could possibly be killing each other as a stag and a giant dog right now?" Lily asked. The four looked at each other and took off running towards the Griffindor Common Room. There were a few underclassmen, but no 6__th__ years. They went to The Qudditch Pitch, The Black Lake, The Shireking Shack, and The Room of Requirement. _

_"Where could they be? We've checked everywhere." Dani said as they climbed back up the stairs. _

_"Can't we stop looking I'm sure they're turn up sooner or later." Lily complained. _

_"Maybe Lily's right. Maybe, they're someplace private so that they can just talk out everything." Remus added. _

_"I mean the only place we haven't looked is The Hospital Wing, and why would they be there?" Peter said. They all froze, before running in that direction and banging open the door. They all looked towards the groan in the corner and gasped. Lying on the bed, covered in bandages, brusies and what looked like dried blood. _

_Right across from him was Sirius, who practically mirrored him. Bandages on his head, arms and legs. Dried blood on his nose, ears, mouth, arms and legs. Both boys breathing was shallow and when their wrists were checked, the pulse was very faint. Remus fell down in a chair, stunned. _

_"I knew that they were mad at each other, and when upset, they can be pretty scary, but" Remus started._

_"Never like this." Peter finished. Lily just stood in the middle of the two beds and looked back and forth between the former best friends. Dani sat on James' bed, pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs, put her head down and began to cry and mutter incohertly. _

_"What?" Remus asked. Lily began to translate. _

_"She says it's all her fault." More gibberish. "It was her idea and now they're never going to be friends again." Gibberish. "She wants to crawl into a hole and die." Just then Dani lifted her head and wiped her cheeks before getting up and walking over to where James' head was. _

_"James, if you can hear me, I'm so sorry. I'll do anything you want. Clean your room at home, do your homework forever, anything. Just please wake up. Please." Dani put her head down on his arm. Seconds later, the room was filled with laughter. Dani, Lily, Remus, and Peter all jumped as they watched Sirius and James roll around on their beds laughing like hyenas. _

_"You...should…have… seen… your…faces!" Sirius said between breaths, while pointing at Remus who had moved to stand behind him. Remus pushed him off the bed, but it didn't slow down his laughing. _

_"You guys thought we were dead!" James said. Dani pushed him off his bed as well. Sirius and James crawled towards each other and kept snickering. _

_"Oh James, I'll do anything you want!" Sirius said in an overly high voice. _

_"Just please wake up!" James continued. Dani put her hands on her hips and glared, the bottom of her black Hogwarts skirt turned red. _

_"You bastards! Do you know how worried I was?" Remus had returned to his chair, and Lily and Peter were both sitting on James' now vacant bed. James and Sirius sat up and calmed themselves down; chuckling every few seconds. _

_"What actually happened in that closet?" Peter asked. _

_"Well, we talked and decided that Dani wasn't worth 6 years of friendship." Sirius explained. The red on Dani's skirt rose higher as did her eyebrow. _

_"You wanna try that again, dog-breath?" _

_"Chill, hot-head. What he meant was that we decided to be mature and not to lose our heads over a girl. No matter how wonderful, talented, smart or gorgeous." Dani's skirt went back to black, but she crossed her arms and her glare didn't let up. _

_"You're just saying that so I'll stop being mad at you." James and Sirius got up off the ground, and James walked over to Dani and wrapped his arms around her waist. _

_"10 percent true, 90 percent because I mean it." He sent her his best puppy dog pout. "Do you forgive me? Please?" He began to kiss her neck, and Dani giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. _

_"Fine. You're forgiven." James smiled and picked her up and twirled her before kissing her. Sirius cleared his throat. James pulled away. _

_"Right. Rule number one in The __**PADFOOTPRONGS**__ treaty. No public tonsil hockey before 6." Dani nodded and walked over to Sirius and kissed him on the cheek. _

_"I forgive you too." _

_"Congratulations, you're forgiven. Yippee. Now why the hell do you both look so beat up?" Lily asked. Stimitanously, both of the accused pulled washcloths from their back pockets and cleaned their faces and arms. Then they unwrapped their bandages. They looked good as new. _

_"Fake blood and bandages can be quite convincing." Sirius said as he tossed the gaws into the trash. "Can we get out of here now? You guys are really slow. James and I have been waiting for ages. We thought you guys were going to desert us." James grinned. _

_"Yeah we should probably get out of here before the nurse comes back. You remember how she acted last time we were here." They all shuddered at the memory. _

_"There was a bit too much flying skin for my taste." Remus said. Sirius clapped his hands. _

_"Now that we're all offically grossed out, let's eat!" _

_**I know it's been forever since I've updated! I'm Trying!promise! Just thanks for being there and actually reading my stories! Hugs and Kisses!**_


	12. A Stunned Remus

"Ana how long have you worn glasses?" Molly asked. Dani and Lily were currently in the library studying with the Marauders leaving Molly, Ana and Alice alone in the dorm. Ana was reading as per usual while Molly and Alice attempted to do their potions homework. Ana shrugged.

"I got my first pair in the grade school. But why does it matter?" She said while looking down at the two who were currently sitting on the floor. Molly shrugged.

"It doesn't. But have you ever thought about getting contacts?" She asked as she stood up and sat next to Ana on her bed. Ana shook her head.

"My glasses work just fine. I never saw a reason to get them." Alice got off the floor as well.

"Have you ever tried them?" Alice said. Ana let out a sigh and closed her book.

"I know what you're trying to do. And the answer is no. No makeovers." Ana said as she stood up and walked over to her vanity. Molly and Ana shared a look before following.

"Why not?" Alice asked. Ana placed her book on the vanity and turned to look at the two.

"Because I don't want to get up every mourning at four AM like you two. Besides why would I want one?" Molly rolled her eyes as she grabbed on to Ana's arm.

"To impress someone duh! Why do you think we get up so early to do it?"

"You both have boyfriends. Molly, Arthur doesn't even attend Hogwarts anymore. Who are you trying to impress?"

"Just because Arthur's not here doesn't mean I should lower my physical appearance." Molly said as she sat on her bed, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.

"What Molly is trying to say," Alice said trying to smooth it over. "Is that just because her significant other isn't here, doesn't mean that she should stop looking pretty." Alice turned back to face Molly, to see her nod in agreement.

"Moll, you know I didn't mean to insult you. It's just that I've never really been the type to wear make-up and get all dressed up you know."

"We'll do everything! Hair, nails, the whole nine yards! All you have to do is say yes!" Molly exclaimed jumping up from her bed.

Ana placed a piece of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. "I'll think about it."

"Alice, open up!" All three girls jumped at the sound to see four broomsticks outside their window. Alice opened the window and in flew James and Dani on one, Sirius came in next, followed by Peter, and lastly by Remus and Lily on the last one.

"Hey girls!" The boys said in unison. Molly and Ana said hi in return while Alice just smiled. James jumped off his broomstick before turning around and lifting Dani off of it.

"Hope we're not interrupting anything." Sirius said as he smirked, still on his broom. Lily had yet to move from her position behind Remus as well. Ana shook her head while glancing at Alice and Molly.

"No, not anything important." Remus arched an eyebrow.

"So we are interrupting something?"

"Well if we are interrupting something how come I wasn't aware?" Dani asked while crossing her arms.

"Lily?" Remus said. Lily nodded in his back to show she was listening. "You wanna let go considering that we're in your dorm now?"

"I'm stuck. I told you I hated flying. I told you I didn't want to go." Lily mumbled in his back. Remus laughed and tried to get out of her grip, but found that she wasn't lying about being stuck.

"Padfoot, you mind?" Remus asked while looking down at Sirius.

"Got it." Sirius stood next to Lily who was still seated on broom. He wrapped his arms around her waist as Remus tried unwrapping Lily's arms from his. Sirius tugged and pulled her off till her death grip on Remus had been released. He then set her on the ground.

"Thanks mate." Remus said while proceeding to jump off his broom as well. Lily slowly walked over to her bed before collapsing on it.

"I said I didn't want to go." She shakily mumbled.

"And don't you feel better now that you went?" Dani asked while sitting down on her own bed. Lily placed a hand on her head.

"I feel nauseous." Molly giggled while Ana conjured an Advil and a glass of water. Lily took it graciously. James yawned.

"Well, as fun as this as been, the rest of the marauders and I do need our beauty sleep. Some more than others. Padfoot."

"I hate you." Sirius replied.

"With that being said, good night girls." He said as he got back on his broom, the other marauders following suit.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Dani?" Alice asked. Dani smirked as she picked up a magazine.

"We already said goodbye before entering." She said as she flipped the page. Sirius' fingers tightened on his broom.

"Yes and it was quite sickening to watch." Peter muttered earning a grin from Remus and a glare from James.

"You didn't have to look." James said.

"You weren't exactly quiet so ignoring you was out of the question and I'm shutting up now." Peter said as the red in Dani's hair grew an inch. She nodded, showing that he had done the right thing.

"Thank you Peter. Not only did we have to watch it, but now I'm getting flashbacks." Sirius said while rubbing his hands over his eyes.

"See ya girls." Remus said before flying out of the room. Sirius was behind him, hands still over his eyes. Peter followed after with a wave.

"Night." James said, leaving while sending a wink Dani's way. As soon as he was gone, Alice and Molly pounced.

"Exactly what happened between you two that caused you to be vocal?" Molly asked, an eyebrow arched. Lily groaned.

"Still nauseous over here!" She said.

"Oh stop whining drama queen." Dani yelled at her, earning a glare from her best friend.

"Back to the subject at hand. You and Mr. Potter. Spill." Alice said while plopping down next to Dani on her bed just as she got up.

"Sorry girls." She said while gathering up her pajamas and heading towards the bathroom. "I don't kiss and tell." She said before closing the door behind her.

"Please. Potter's smirk suggested a lot more than a good snog." Lily said while sitting up on her bed.

"You seem to be feeling better." Ana said while smiling.

"So, what were you guys actually talking about before we came in?" Lily asked while picking up a brush and brushing her hair.

"We're trying to convince Ana to let us give her a makeover." Molly said just as Ana groaned.

"Yes and it's not working because I'm not going to let them." She said. Lily's eyebrows knotted together.

Why?"

"Because I like how I look. Don't you?" The three other occupants in the room hurried to agree with her. "Then why should I have one?"

"Because. Dani and Lily are already overly gorgeous without makeup and giving them makeovers would just make life in Britain unlivable and Molly and I have given makeovers to ourselves so many times that it's not fun anymore. You're the only one we haven't attacked yet." Alice said while climbing onto her bed.

"That, and we're bored." Molly chimed in. Ana rolled her eyes and headed towards the bathroom just as Dani walked out.

"Your birthday's next week, right?" She asked blocking the door and forcing Ana to answer.

"Yes, Dani. I turn 17 next week. Why?" Dani shrugged.

"Well, the way I see it, the makeover could be like their present to you." Ana scoffed.

"I'll pass."

"Just think about it. And you won't have to keep up with it if you don't want to. It'll just be for that day." Ana rolled her eyes, annoyed.

"Are you done?" She asked. Dani nodded.

"Yes I am." She stated while moving out of the doorway and to her bed.

"Well, now that you are all done interrogating me, I'm going to go take a shower. Unless you have a problem with that!" Ana slammed the door in anger leaving her roommates in silence.

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"Dani, no I'm not going to give you the answers!" Lily yelled. It was the next day and they were currently in the Common Room, which was empty for everyone else was at dinner. Dani scoffed.

"And why not?"

"Because you don't learn anything if I do!" Dani rolled her eyes.

"The way I see it, you've got two options. You can either let me copy yours, or I can go copy James' and two people fail. And you being my best friend, should only want the best for me. Besides, if you don't let me copy it, I'm gonna steal it. Your choice." Lily glared at her before rolling her eyes and handing Dani her paper.

"Where are you going?" Dani asked Ana as she came down the stairs of the girls' dormitory. She had changed out of her school uniform and into a pair of jeans and a fitted Tee. Her hair was out of its usual ponytail and resting on her shoulders.

"What are you talking about?" Ana asked when she finally reached the bottom of the stairs.

"After classes, you just stay in uniform till it's lights out. You've done that for six years. Why suddenly stop?" Ana nodded.

"A person can change can't they? Lily I used your curling iron if that's alright." Lily who smiling knowingly nodded.

"It's fine by me."

"Stop trying to change the subject." Dani said while rising to her feet. "Where are you going, who are you meeting, and how fast should I spread the rumors? I've got the passwords for all the common rooms." Lily arched an eyebrow.

"All of them? Even Slytherin?"

"Even Slytherin." Lily nodded.

"Impressive." Ana rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to the library to meet Remus to study. Can I go now? I'm gonna be late." Dani nodded and Ana headed towards the door. Just before it closed behind her, Dani and Lily yelled.

"HAVE FUN ON YOUR DATE! AND TELL REMUS WE SAID HI!"

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"Remus? Remus Lupin? Can I ask you a question?" Remus looked up from his notes to see a very nervous looking Ravenclaw Fourth Year standing over him. Remus gave her a warm smile to calm her nerves.

"Sure. Ask away. Sit." He said while gesturing to the seat beside him. She gratefully took it before looking down and staring at her hands. "Look, um-"

"Kristie. My name is Kristie." She said.

"Thank you. Look Kristie. This question you wanted to ask. What can I help you with because I'm sorta supposed t be meeting someone soon." Kristie nodded.

"Of course. Someone as popular and a handsome as you has got to be terribly busy and I'm sorry for taking up your time." Remus smirked.

"While I welcome the compliments, it's really no problem at all. So what do you need help with? Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Potions?" Kristie took a breath before answering.

"Boys." Remus eyebrows rose.

"You are aware that I'm not gay right?" He asked but Kristie either ignored him or didn't hear him.

"It's Sirius. He's all I think about. I haven't eaten in over a week. I've also begun to fail. What should I do? It's not like I can start dating him. He'd never go for me."

"Not unless you were 5"9, had red highlights and your name rhymed with Manny Barlson." He muttered under his breath. Kristie's eyebrows knotted together.

"What?"

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"Deep breaths, in and out. In and out. In and out." Ana repeated. She was currently standing feet away from the entrance to the library and she had been there for over ten minutes. Passing students sent her curious looks that she ignored.

"It's just a study session with Remus. The guy you like. Since third year. But you can do this. You can do this. Just walk in, sit down and open your book. That's it." She breathed in once more and headed back towards the library. What she saw stopped her in her tracks.

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Remus shook his head. "Nothing. I talk to myself." Kristie nodded.

"So what should I do?" She asked him. Remus sighed before scooting his chair over till he was right next to her. He then took both her hands in his.

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"Why is Remus holding hands with that Ravenclaw?" Ana quietly muttered. She was about to enter when the sight of Remus moving closer to a girl had stopped her. Now he was holding hands with her. They were seated a good distance from the door so she couldn't make out what they were saying, but whatever it was looked important because the eye contact between the two was intense. Ana nervously watched Remus' lips move, trying to read them with no success.

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"Sirius is one of my best mates and I'd do anything for him, but you seem like a very sweet and innocent girl, so it's only fair that I warn you. Sirius Black is a player. He will tell you that he's completely in love with you one minute, and within the hour, he's moved on. He's not good at relationships and he's longest didn't even last six months. Now, are you sure you wanna get involved with a guy like that?" He asked. Kristie nodded eagerly.

"I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything in my life." Remus sighed. If she was determined to like Sirius, he was not gonna stop her.

"In that case, I'll talk to him about you and see what he says." Kristie squealed.

"Thank you Remus! Thank you so much! You really are as nice as everyone says!" Kristie jumped up and hugged him with such enthusiasm that she landed in his lap.

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Ana gasped at the stranger's open display of affection. And the worst part was that Remus didn't seem to be pushing her away in the slightest. In fact, he was hugging her back with just as much enthusiasm as well.

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Remus gripped Kristie's waist so that they wouldn't both fall out of the chair. He was expecting her to be happy, but not quite this much. "You're welcome." He muttered into her sweater. Just then, he heard a gasp and turned his head. Sadly, for him he turned at the wrong moment, and found his lips connected to Kristie's.

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Ana's mouth dropped to the floor at the sight of Remus kissing the unknown girl in his lap. How long had he liked her? How could she have been so stupid to not realize that she was who he wanted? Obviously their study plans meant nothing to him since he had planned a meeting with is girlfriend for right after. Or before. Or maybe for during. As she slowly made her way back to her dorm, only one thought ran through her mind.

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Both Kristie and Remus stayed connected at the lips just staring at each other in shock. When they finally did disconnect themselves, Rachel jumped up off his lap and instantly started apologizing.

"Oh my gosh, Remus! I didn't mean to do that I swear! I meant to kiss you on the cheek but you turned and I wasn't expecting it! I'm so so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so sorry! Please don't hate me!" Remus laughed before standing up as well.

"Kristie, it's fine. I know it was an accident. It's cool." Kristie sighed.

"Good. So you'll still talk to Sirius for me?" Remus nodded.

"I'll still talk to Sirius for you." Kristie squealed again and hugged him once more, before pulling away and kissing him on the cheek.

"That's what I meant to do. Bye Remus! See you tomorrow!" She said before skipping away. Remus sank back into his chair before rubbing his face with his hand. Just as he begun to continue to write, he realized he had gum in his mouth. He hadn't been before meeting Kristie.

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"Give me the damn makeover." Ana said as she reentered her dormitory. Four faces turned to look at her.

"Are you sure?" Molly asked.

"What changed your mind?" Alice chipped in.

"You seem angry." Lily noted.

"Did you just curse?" Dani questioned. Ana rolled her eyes before plopping down on the vanity. Molly and Alice walked up behind her.

"Yes I'm sure, I changed my mind because I wanted to, I'm not angry and yes I did just curse. Any more questions or can we get on with this?" Molly shook her head.

"Not until you calm down and start breathing. Smoke is coming out of your ears." Ana closed her eyes and slowly breathed in and out until she had calmed down. When she was calm, she reopened her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I just had a run-in with someone and I got rubbed the wrong way. Will you both please give me a makeover? Pretty pretty please?" She asked while looking at both Molly and Alice and giving them their best puppy dog pout.

"Of course!" They exclaimed.

"Dani, where's your curler?" Alice asked while running a hand through Ana's hair. Dani reached under her bed before throwing it to Alice.

"So." Molly stated while looking at her makeup supplies. "Who was this run-in with? A certain someone maybe?" Ana's eyes widened before she answered.

"No. Just someone who stabbed me in the back unknowingly." Molly, Alice, Lily and Dani all nodded.

"Slytherin." They said in unison. Molly rolled her eyes.

"Of course. Anyway, go shower and when you're done, we'll give you a facial, manicure and a pedicure." She said while shoving her toiletries at her and pushing her towards the bathroom.

"Well this is good." Lily said. Dani arched an eyebrow.

"And why is that?"

"Because this means that we no longer have to hold her down the night before her birthday and force her to get a makeover. It's a win-win."

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"Wait. Ana stood you up? Ana Smith? Are you sure?" Sirius asked the next morning at breakfast. Remus shook his head.

"She didn't stand me up. She just had an emergency that caused her to miss our study session." He explained. Peter looked up from his plate.

"You mean your date." Remus squinted at him.

"What?"

"She missed your date." He repeated. Remus shook his day.

"It wasn't a date."

"Yes it was." James, Sirius and Peter replied.

"It was a study session." He emphasized. James, Peter, and Sirius looked at each other.

"Date." They said. Remus sighed.

"I give up."

"Because we're right." Sirius stated. Just then two arms came from behind and covered James' eyes.

"Guess who! She's smart, beautiful, talented, and if you even think about saying another girl's name, she will kill both her and you." James grinned and removed Dani's hands from his eyes.

"Good morning Fireyes." He said while looking up at her and wrapping her arms around his neck. She smiled down at him before kissing him on the cheek.

"Good morning. And how did you sleep?" She asked.

"Very well. And you?" Dani sighed.

"Not well." James' face turned to one of concern and he stood up.

"Why not? Are you sick?" He asked while placing a hand on her forehead. Dani grabbed it and held it in her own.

"No, I just missed you and spent all night dreaming about you. That's why I couldn't sleep." James smirked.

"Good dreams, bad dreams, or naughty dreams?" Dani smirked back.

"Definetly naughty ones and they've all been about you."

"Well maybe you should tell me about them. How about during Transfiguration today?"

"Fine with me." She replied. Sirius glared at the lovey-dovey couple above him.

"Good to see you too, Dani. Don't worry about the rest of us. We're fine." Dani laughed.

"Good morning Padfoot. Good morning Moony. Good morning Wormtail." She said as James sat back in his seat and she sat on his lap. "Are you happy now?"

"I think glad is a better word for my current emotion." He bantered back. "So where are the rest of the girls?" He asked.

"Lily had to talk to McGonagall about an assignment, Molly's sending an owl, Alice is in the bathroom, and Ana should be on her way." Sirius looked over at Remus, who had just narrowed his eyes and was mouthing, _'don't you dare.' _

"Dani, did Ana mention anything to you about a meeting yesterday?" Sirius asked as Remus rolled his eyes. Dani appeared thoughtful for a moment before she responded.

"I faintly remember her saying something about going to the library, but the rest of the details are foggy. Why?" Sirius shrugged.

"Just wondering." His glance went back to Remus, and Dani followed him with her eyes.

"Remus? Did you and Ana have plans?" She asked while placing a hand on his shoulder. Remus looked around her to glare at Sirius.

"I hate you. And we were supposed to study but I guess something came up." Dani had to hide her smirk.

"I'm sure there's a logical explination." She said while rubbing her hand up and down his back.

"Can't wait to hear this." Remus said.

"And see it." She muttered.

"What?" Dani shook her head.

"I didn't say anything." Just then a girl appeared behind Remus.

"Good morning, Remus!" She said cheerfully. Remus stod u.

"Hi Kristie." Remus said while standing. Dani eyed her suspiciously.

"So, Remus. Did you get a chance to talk to Professor Dumbledore for me?" She asked. Remus nodded.

"I talked to him yesterday and he said think about it, which is almost a total yes. So in about a week, ask him yourself." Kristie hugged Remus tightly.

"Thank you! You're the best!" She said before rushing back over to the Ravenclaw table and sitting down. Remus watched her go, before doing the same and was greeted by stares.

"What was that about?" James asked. Remus shrugged.

"She's been having problems in some of her classes and she had a suggestion on how she could get better and she needed to talk to Dumbledore but was too scared, so she asked me to do it for her. Nothing special." Sirius looked back over at the Ravenclaw table.

"Isn't that the same Kristie you were asking me about last night?" He asked. Before Remus could answer however, Dani looked towards the entrance to the Great Hall and gasped. "Be right back!" She said while hopping up off James and running towards the humagous doorway. Peter stared after her.

"What's with her?" James shrugged.

"Does it matter?" He asked as he resumed eating. Remus' watch beeped.

"Class in 20. Let's go." The foursome rose from their seats and walked to the entrance. Once out, they heard some giggiling and turned to see Dani, Lily, Molly, and Alice wearing identical looks of mischief. They all also appeared to be hiding something behind their backs.

"Hi." All four boys stated heisitantly. The girls' grins only grew in length.

"Hello."

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked. The girls shook thier heads from side to side.

"Nothing." They responded in unison once more. All four of the boys took a step back.

"I'm scared." Peter said causing Dani to laugh.

"But Peter, there's nothing to be scared of. We just wanna show you four something and see what you think." She said while rocking back and forth on her toes. James eyed her suspiciously.

"Really? That's it?" The four nodded.

"That's it."

"Would you stop talking at the same time like that?" Remus asked. "It's creepy."

"We're done." Molly said and the Marauders breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now about our surprise." Sirius said while rubbing his hands together. Alice steeped forward.

"The ladies of Gryffindor proudly present, for approval by the Marauders, Ana Smith!" Just as she said this, Lily, Dani, and Molly stepped away from each other and Ana stepped forward.

Her brown hair was curled, and like her four roommates, had a fringe that fell into her sky blue eyes. She was wearing mascara and a light eyeshadow that was compatible with her skin tone. Her uniform seemed to have been shrunk because it both fit her and showed off her petite figure better than before. Her shoes were different as well. Instead of her usual flat shoes, she was wearing wedge heels, which added at least an inch and a half to her height. She gave a small smile.

"Good morning, boys." All four blinked an astonishment.

"Ana? Is that really you?" Remus asked. She nodded.

"Yes it's me. And I'm sorry about yesterday. The girls made me over and that's why I missed our study session." She explained. Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but a hit from James in the gut stopped him. Remus nodded.

"It's comepletely understandable. How about we meet this evening to make up for it?" He suggested. Ana grinned and nodded eageraly.

I'd like that." She said, missing the high five between her roommates.

"Mission accomplished." Molly wisered to the other four.

_**Sorry for the major delay!!!!! Read and review!!!! Pretty pretty please with gumdrops on top!!!!**_


	13. AN to All stories

Dear loyal fanfiction readers,

I know it's been forever since I've updated, and just when I was about to, my laptop computer crashed and because I'm a moron, I didn't back anything up so all my work is gone. I just got it back and it's working again, but it will be awhile before I write anything. All my stuff for school was on it and so I have to focus on that. But as soon as I'm caught up (or because I'll procrastinate doing my work and will write instead) I'll update my stories. I know how irritating it must be, cause I'm taking forever. But thank you so much for sticking with my stories and all my personal problems.

Can't wait to get back to writing and to read your reviews,

_HP4EverLuver_

_Peace, Luv, and Hairgrease!_


	14. Firewiskey, Sex, and A Shocking Twist

Chap 14-Firewhiskey, Sex, and A shocking Twist at the End

_I'M UPDATING AGAIN!!! Are you as excited about it as I am? Anyway here's a brand new chapter and it's all about what happens when our favorite Gryffindors celebrate the upcoming Christmas holidays. What will happen? _

_P.S. I don't own_

_P.S.S. Read the title of the chapter. Yes, it has sex in it. Kay?_

_P.S.S. ON WITH THE STORY! ___

"GRYFFINDOR RULES!" Sirius yelled drunkly. It was currently the day before they were set to leave for the winter break and the common room was filled with excited partiers. Someone (The Marauders) had snuck into Hogsmeade and had gotten hold of tons of alcohol and they had been circulating the room. Everyone was laughing and jubilant, even Lily had put down her books and had had a couple of bottles of Firewiskey.

"Lily, are you okay?" Dani asked. Lily who was standing on the table nodded.

"Of course! It's a party, Dani! Stop worrying!" Lily said while taking another drink from the bottle in her hand.

"Lily, I don't think I've ever seen you this, this,-"

"Silly, fun, crazy-" Lily suggested. Dani shook her head.

"No. Drunk. Hammered works too. I don't think you've ever even had more than a glass of wine." Lily giggled.

"I know! I never knew just how great firewiskey was. It's like amazing! I always thought it would be really disgusting and all, but after the first couple of swallows, it can't tell anymore. You should try it. Here!" Lily said while holding out the bottle to her. Dani hesitated before taking it and gulping it down.

"It's not usually this strong." She said before taking another swing. Who has another bottle? This one is empty!" Dani said while waving the now empty bottle. It was removed from her hand and replaced with a full one.

"How many have you had?" James wishpered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around Dani's waist. Dani grinned.

"I haven't even had a full one, so calm down. Lily on the other hand, has had at least two." Lily, who was still dancing on the table, shook her head.

"Three and a half actually!" She corrected. She then proceeded to jump off the table and grab Dani's arm. "Come on Dani. Dance with me! It's so much fun! Like, way more than it should be!" Dani giggled.

"Lils, are you sure you're okay?" She asked. Lily groaned.

"Dani, stop worrying! That's usually my job! Let loose! We only have one more year! Let's get crazy! Let's have fun! Oh my god, let's STREAK! Yes! Let's Streak!" She said while beggining to unbutton her blue shirt. Dani's eyes widened and she pulled Lily's hands down by her sides.

"Don't stop her!" James said. Dani turned to glare at him. He shrugged. "What? Lily's hot. Just because I'm dating you, doesn't mean I'm not allowed to appreciate her wonderful assets. Her wonderful, wonderful, assets. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful-" Dani interrupted.

"Stop it. You know, you're pretty lucky. If I actually liked you, I would have probably killed you by now." While Dani was busy paying attention to James, Lily had continued to undress herself. She had just finished taking off her shirt and was working on her pants, when Sirius stopped her. He like Lily had had a few, but unlike her, he had a higher tolerance for alchol and was still in control of his actions. He stopped her and helped her put her shirt back on, causing the group of guys who had formed a circle to watch groan.

"Why to be a fun killer, Black!" One yelled. In return, Sirius gave them the finger before walking back over to Dani and James.

"I believe she is yours." Sirius said while handing her over Dani. Lily spotted the bottle Dani was still holding and giggled.

"You found a new bottle!" She said while reaching for it. Dani pulled it out of reach.

"No, you've had enough." She said holding it above her head. Lily tried to reach it.

"Come on Dani! Share! It's not like you're gonna finish the whole thing by yourself anyway! Gimmie some!" She whined, but Dani held strong.

"Lily, you are not having this bottle." Lily did her best to glare at her friend but seemed incapable of controlling her body's actions.

"And what makes you say that?"

"You can't have some when there's nothing to have." With that being said, she held the bottle to her lips and began to chug it. When it was finally empty, she threw it on the ground and it smashed into hundreds of little pieces. Dani grinned.

"See? Now there's nothing for you to want." She said while wobbiling. James had to help keep her up. While her tolerance was higher, it acted faster than it had with Lily, and within seconds, she was as smashed as Lily.

"Oh my god! I love this song!" Dani yelled as she climbed up onto the table and began to grind air. She reached a hand out to Lily and she took it and climbled up on the table next to it. Sirius and James watched the two in awe. Sirius and James shared a look which clearly said, _'should we stop them?'_ They thought about it, before shaking their heads.

"You know what would make this better?" Sirius said while crossing his arms. James, who's eyes were directed at Lily's hips, shrugged.

"What?"

"If they started making out. You know, if I had a videocamera, and they were covered in oil, it'd be my excat birthday wish from when I was fourteen."

"Why did you wish for that?"

"I don't remember. I don't remember much from Fourth Year come to think of it…" James was silent for a second before responding,

"Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"Go lie down."

"Okay." Sirius said while walking over to the sofa. He pushed the passed out person off and lied down on it himself.

James chuckled as he surveyed his housemates. Some were drunk, some were passed out (Peter), some were drawing on the faces of those who were passed out, others were making out in the corner, others were dancing, and others (AKA Dani and Lily) were on top of the table making a bunch of noise and leading all of the chaos. James, had only had one bottle of Firewiskey and was barely even buzzed. He looked around and saw Remus surveying all of the madness from a corner. He walked over, pulling up a chair. "Hey Mooney. What's up?" Remus shook his head.

"Just thinking. What about you? Usually it's you and Sirius hosting the party, while Lily joins me in making fun of how stupid you look. It seems as if you two have reversed roles tonight. Why?"

"Well, Lily's never had a drink and she went a little overboard for her first time, and I really don't know why I'm still sober. I guess I wanted to see what an arse I look like when I'm not. Am I really this bad?" Remus shook his head and chuckled.

"No. You're worse. You once crept into McGonagall's sleeping quarters, and said _'what happens in here, stays in here._' I swear McGonagall wanted to slit your throat." He laughed at the memory. James had heard that story tons of times from different people. He rolled his eyes and squinted through his glasses as he looked for someone.

"Where's Ana?"

"In her dorm. She said she didn't feel like staying for the celebrations."

"So are you two officially a couple yet?" Remus sighed and looked into space.

"I don't know. I wanna say yes, but I'm not entirely sure."

"How are you not sure?" Remus shrugged at the question.

"I'm just not. I don't know how to give you any other answer."

"Well there's only one thing to do."

"And that would be? Remus asked.

"Ask her out." James said as if it were the most obvious thing.

"No." Remus said while shaking his head.

"Well too bad. It's not your choice. You're doing it wether you like it or not. And that's final." James said. Before Remus got the chance to say anything else, someone fell in his lap.

"He he, Jamie!" Dani giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. James caught her and held her to stop her from falling off his lap. She began to kiss him over and over again on the neck. Remus laughed as he got up.

"I guess I'll leave you two alone." He said as he walked away. James rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his intoxicated girlfriend who was holding yet another bottle. He could smell the Firewiskey on her breath.

"Dani? How many have you had?" Dani rocked back and forth on James lap as she thought.

"I wanna say four." She said while holding up five fingers. James assumed that her hand was right.

"Well then you don't need anymore." He said while prying the bottle from her fingers. Dani pouted, but allowed him to take it and set it on the floor next to the chair.

"James, how come you're not drinking? Are you okay?" Dani asked slurring. James tried not to laugh as she tried to look serious but ended up just crossing her arms instead.

"So that at least somebody remembers what happened, because you obviously won't." Dani laughed as if it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. When she quieted the two sat there in silence, watching everyone. Sirius, who had gotten off the couch was tickling Peter's nose, and making him cover his face in what they hoped was chocolate pudding. Remus was talking to one of the partially drunk students, and Lily was still on the table. Luckily, she had stopped trying to get undressed, but the surrounding boys were still watching mesmerized nonetheless. After a while, Dani began to yawn.

"You're tired." James said. Dani shook her head denying the statement.

"It's only eleven. I'm not tired." James checked his watch.

"It's almost three thirty in the morning."

"So?"

"It's time for you to get in bed." Dani shook her head in protest, but when James stood up with her in his arms, she didn't object. He began walking towards the girl's staircase and was about to step on the first step, when he remembered that boys couldn't get into the girls' dormitory. He contemplated flying to her window and getting in like that, but decided that he didn't want to risk Dani falling. So he turned around and headed towards the boy's staircase instead.

"Where are we going?" Dani asked, her face buried in James' neck.

"To my room."

"Why are we going there?"

"So you can sleep."

"But I'm not tired." James rolled his eyes and pushed open the door to the sixth year's room. It was obviously empty, considering the fact that his roommates were downstairs. He put Dani down on his bed.

"Stay here. Don't move, okay?" Dani nodded and swayed slightly.

"Okay." She said while hiccupping. James then walked over to his drawers and pulled out a pair of pajamas before heading into the bathroom. In there, he changed and washed his face. He walked back in the room to find that Dani had not only curled up in his bed, but she had also removed her clothes and was wearing one of his stretched out T-shirts that reached her knees. James' eyes widened and he froze for a second. If Lily hadn't captured him under her spell all those years ago, he would definitely have gone after his best girl friend. He walked over to his bed and lied down next to Dani. They laid there in silence for a while, Dani drawing circles on James' bare chest, and James' hand around her waist.

"Jamie?" Dani asked quietly.

"Hmm?" He answered.

"Do you love me?" She asked. James sat up and looked at her.

"Of course." He answered as if it were obvious. Dani sat up too.

"But not as much as you love Lily." James opened his mouth to respond, but closed it and rethought his answer. He then took the hand that had previously been tracing patterns on him and intertwined their fingers.

"I do love you as much as I love Lily." He explained. "I just love her differently." The last time he could remember seeing Dani this insecure was when they were eight, and she never told him why she was so upset. He just held her and reassured her that everything would be fine and that no matter what he'd always be there. Dani nodded understanding.

"So no matter, we'll always be friends?" James was no not sure if this was the Firewiskey talking or whether or not this was some insecurity that was finally coming to the surface. James moved closer till their foreheads touched.

"Always." Dani smiled and pecked James playfully on the lips. James grinned and gave her one back. The pecks continued, each one lasting a little bit longer than the one before. After about five minutes or so, the two pulled back and stared at each other. Dani leaned in first, and James met her halfway. The kiss was the longest and instead of pulling away like with the others, they two stayed connected at the lips. James decided to deepen it, Dani happily obliged. He then picked her up and placed her in his lap, her legs wrapping around his back. As the two continued to kiss, Dani's right hand wandered into James' hair, while her left one slid up and down his back, causing him to shiver.

Dani was the first to break the kiss to breathe for air, and James just began to trail kisses down her neck. She threw her head back and groaned in pleasure. James smiled at the sound. Desperate for more, Dani scooted a little trying to get closer. What she did instead was grind against James, which caused him to let an animalistic growl. Dani snickered.

"Guess I'm not the only one enjoying our little session." She said while grinning. James, who had closed his eyes, reopened them and laughed darkly. He then pushed Dani off his lap and down so now her back was on the bed. He then leaned over her and smirked as she lowered himself till his lips were barely touching hers.

"You have no idea how much I am enjoying this right now." He whispered, before smashing his lips onto hers. Dani opened her mouth to him, and their tongues collided with each other. She then turned them over so she was on top. She smirked.

"Ready?" She asked. James arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"For what?" Dani rotated her hips, which were perfectly aligned with James' pelvis. He gasped in shock. Dani's smirk grew larger as she continued.

"For that." She answered. James pulled her head back down to his and they kissed as they grinded on each other. His hands went to her back and slowly began to lift his shirt from on her frame. When it was fully off, he broke the kiss to stare at her. She was wearing a lime green bra with matching underwear. James laughed.

"Slytherin colors? Really Dani? I'm ashamed." Dani scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"What can I say? I'm a very bad girl." Dani said slurring slightly. Her new speech impediment broke James out of his trance and he realized exactly what was going on. He flipped them over again so he was on top. He then held her hands down.

"Dani!" He exclaimed. She blinked up at him through her lust-filled gaze.

"Yes?"

"What are we doing?"

"What can of retarded question is that?" Dani asked. "We were obviously about to shag." James nodded.

"I'm not stupid, I know that. But why? We're just pretending to date remember?" Dani nodded to show she understood exactly what was going on.

"Yes I know that. I like Sirius, and you like Lily. It's not like we're making a commitment to each other or anything. We're just…having a little fun." Dani said with more conviction that she should have had. Maybe she actually hadn't had as many drinks as James had suspected. "Come on Jamie. Don't deny it. Neither of us has gotten any in so long, and you're just as horny and as willing as I am. Let yourself go." James could hear the truth in what she was saying. Hanging around Dani had been having an extremely sexual effect on him lately, and he couldn't even remember his last shag. He needed it just as bad as she did. Yet, he still tried to stop.

"Dani, we shouldn't." Dani, who had chosen to stop listening, was placing kissing all over his face, his neck, and his chest. And with each one, his resolve was slowly weakening as was his grip on her hands. "We need to stop. Dani please-" Dani took that moment to kiss him, therefore preventing him from talking. He gave in, before pulling away again. "Dani, seriously. Listen. We can't do-" He stopped due to the fact that he closed his eyes and bit his lip to stop himself from groaning. James had unknowingly released Dani's hands while he was talking, and she had chosen that exact moment to slide her hand into his pants and wrap around his member. Dani grinned at his reaction. As she stroked him, she placed hickeys all over his neck.

"Such a big boy." Dani said as she sped up the movement of her hands. James gripped his bed sheets and gasped over and over again at the painful pleasure he was in. When he couldn't take anymore, he placed his hand over hers to still the movement. "Danielle Michelle Carlson. I swear to god if you don't stop, I'm not going to last and neither of us are going to be especially happy about it." Dani grinned happy that he was finally cooperating and pulled her hand out and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Glad we're finally on the same page." Dani said before she resumed kissing him. James reached behind her back and unhooked her bra on the first try. He peeled it off, throwing it across the room. He then leaned down and began to toy with her breasts. Dani arched her back off the bed as he sucked on one as his hand played with the other. James kept his eyes on her face the entire time.

"James." Dani moaned. He lifted his head from her chest.

"Yes?" She glared at him.

"Don't stop. Please. Continue." James thought for a second.

"I don't know if I should. You've been incredibly mean to me lately." Dani gasped, her chest heaving.

"James! Don't do that! Please. Keep going. Please." She pleaded. James smirked and shrugged.

"Fine. But only because you're begging…" He said while resuming his position except now he started a downward decent. He kissed her all over, her arms, in the middle of her breasts, her stomach, her sides, anywhere he could, and taking the time to make mental notes of what she reacted to best. Why, he didn't know. Once he had reached her hips, James slowly pulled off her underwear before flinging it across the room where it joined her bra. He pulled away and climbed back until their faces were level again. He leaned down until his mouth was level with her ear.

"Beautiful." He said.

"I try." She retorted while laughing. Dani's hands then proceeded to pull James' P.J. bottoms down to reveal that he wore nothing under them. She arched her eyebrow questioning. He shrugged.

"It's a habit." Dani gripped him.

"I like your habits." She said while kissing him again. James broke the kiss and held out his hand.

"Accio wand." He said hoarsely. It flew into his outstretched hand. First he pointed it at the door, locking it. Then he used it to close the curtains surrounding his bed and silence them. Lastly, he performed a contraceptive charm around his bed before dropping his wand on the floor. "Don't wanna take any chances." He said when he was done. Dani nodded and their lips met once more. James aligned himself. "Ready?" He asked. Dani intertwined her right hand with his left.

"Ready. Do it." James slowly pushed his manhood into Dani and they both groaned at the contact. James pulled out slowly, before reentering. Dani winced as he did those. Though she was no virgin, there was still a little pain. Especially when someone was as large as James was. When she had gotten used to the size, she became aggravated with her boyfriend's speed.

"Faster James, faster." James hearing her give him permission exited her all the way before slamming back in. They moaned simultaneously. Dani moved her hips in time to meet James' thrusts, and due to their arousing foreplay, they were both close to the edge within minutes.

"James," Dani gasped. "I need to come." James nodded and kissed her on the forehead.

"Then do it." As soon as the words left his lips, Dani arched back and screamed as her orgasm hit her. As her walls tightened around him, James groaned as he came as well. When he was fully spent, he rolled off of her and caught his breath. Dani rolled on her side to look at him.

"Well?" She asked while grinning.

"Well what?" He asked back.

"How was I?" She asked. James laughed.

"Definitely one of the best." Dani grinned. James nudged her. "And what about me?" Dani rolled her eyes playfully.

"Oh right…" James shoved her and she giggled. "I'm kidding. You were brilliant. Definitely in the top three." James raised an eyebrow.

"And who's' number one on your list of guys?"

"Sirius always has and always will be number one in my book. Even if I haven't slept with him…yet." Both she and James began to laugh. When they had finally calmed down, James pulled the covers over both of them, and Dani curled into his side. As she nodded off, she whispered in his chest.

"Love you James." James smiled and kissed her hair.

"Love you too, Dani. Love you too."

_**HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP**_

"And if it isn't the happy couple now, waking up at the crack of noon. It's a good thing you two were planning on staying at Hogwarts for Christmas Break, or you would have missed the train." Sirius said as Dani and James sat down with the group in the Great Hall. James checked his watch to see that Sirius' calculations were correct. It was after 12, meaning they had slept through breakfast and the train leaving. James grinned.

"Well, we did have a late night last night. Right, Dani?" He asked while turning towards her to see Dani with her head on the table and groaning.

"What's wrong?" He asked while rubbing her back. She mumbled something he couldn't understand. "What?" She said it again, no more audible than the first time. "What?"

"I said it's too loud!" Dani said raising her voice. She scrunched up her eyes and held her head, groaning again. Sirius laughed.

"Looks to me like someone's hung over." Dani opened her eyes and glared at him.

"Black, as soon as I'm feeling better, I'm going to kill you she whispered. Lily rolled her eyes and reached into her pocket before handing Dani a flask with a liquid of some sort in it. Dani took it hesitantly.

"What's this?"

"Hangover potion. Drink it." Lily suggested. Dani sniffed it before covering her nose and shaking her head.

"Is there alcohol in it? It smells horrid. I won't drink it." She said. Lily shrugged.

"It's either drink it, or take a cold shower-" Before Lily could finish the rest of her statement, Dani had chugged the whole thing down.

"I still feel like crap." She complained.

"Well, you're going to have to wait a while for it to kick in of course. It's not instantaneous."

"How long till it works?"

"2, 3 hours top." Dani's eyes widened.

"Hours?" Just then McGonagall walked up to them with a grave look on her face.

"The headmaster would like a word with all six of you." The six teenagers looked at each other, trying to understand what they had done. Peter was the one to speak up.

"Whatever it was Professor, I assure you it wasn't us. We don't have anything planned till after everyone gets back." Remus hit him to get him to shut up. McGonagall shook her head.

"It's not something you've done; it's something that has happened. Now please, just go. Don't keep Dumbledore waiting." With that she turned and headed back to the Head Table and resumed her seat, not making eye contact with any of them.

"We might as well." James said while standing and holding his hand out to Dani. She accepted and the others stood as well. They all walked out of the Great Hall and towards the Gargoyle's that led to the Headmaster's Office. Lily, having been there just last week, stepped forward.

"Frozen Tarts." Lily said and the gargoyle moved aside and the six stepped in. When they had finally reached the door, Remus was the one who knocked on it quietly.

"Who is it?" A voice from inside said.

"Remus Lupin, James Potter, Sirius Black, Lily Evans, Peter Pettigrew, and Dani Carlson." Remus said while looking at each person in turn.

"Ah, yes. Come in." Peter pushed open the door and the six scrambled in. Albus Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, cleaning his glasses on his robe. They were six chairs placed closely together in front of it, and the friends looked at each other as they slowly sat down. This was far from the first time they had been in the legendary office, but never before had it been so formal. All the other times, Dumbledore had been standing or playing with some new trinket, eager to show it off. Also he was always in a good mood, smiling about something, whistling about something, or thinking about something. But he was currently wearing the same grave expression as McGonagall. Even the portraits on the walls of the past Headmasters and Headmistresses, appeared to know that something was terribly wrong. When they were all seated, he sighed and placed his glasses back on his face.

"I wish I didn't have to call you in here, but there is something that you all must now. I am sure you know who Lord Voldermort is?" The six nodded, now more nervous than ever. Lately, Lord Voldermort, a dark wizard of sorts, had been going on a killing spree, apparently trying to rid the world of muggle borns and muggles along with his followers, the Death Eaters. It started out small at first. A disappearance here, a death there. Nothing out of the ordinary. That was until tons of people turned up dead, and there was always a way to know who had done it, for they always left a sign in the sky of a snake coming out a skull. A Third Year Ravenclaw had been carried out of the Great Hall a few weeks earlier after receiving a letter that the Dark Mark had been found over the house of her aunt. They all shivered at the memory.

"What does he have to do with us?" Sirius asked. Dumbledore ignored his question and turned to Lily.

"Lily, when was the last time you saw your parents?" Lily, who was taken aback by the question, stuttered as she answered.

"Be-before I got on the train." Dumbledore nodded.

"Did you hug them, and tell them that you love them?" Lily nodded unsurely.

"Yes, but why?" Dumbledore sighed as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"Because my dear. I regret to inform you that you'll never see them again." All six of their jaws dropped.

"What?" They all asked. Dumbledore leaned over his desk and folded his arms.

"Lily, the Dark Mark was found over your parents' house this morning and according to the Magical Enforcement, it's estimated that it had been put there sometime last night. Your parents were in the house in the living room. Lily, your parents are dead."


	15. Adventures on the HogwartsExpressPartOne

**_DON'T YOU JUST LOVE THAT NEW CHAPTER SMELL? ENJOY!!!_**

**_WARNING!!! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS TEENAGE SEX_**

**_HAPPY READINGS! :) _**

The room was dead silent. The six students were too shocked to move or to talk. Dani, James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius all turned to stare at Lily, who had risen from her chair and was staring at Dumbledore with a blank expression. She approached his desk and stared him dead in the eyes.

"Are you serious?" She whispered. Dumbledore nodded and took off his glasses.

"I wish I wasn't." He said gravely. At his words, Lily's legs collapsed from underneath her and she fell to the floor, tears running down her face. Dani rushed to her side and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her and holding her. The boys were limp in their seats. They had heard about the attacks going on, but this was the first one that had happened to someone they actually knew. Dumbledore stood from his desk and knelt beside Lily and Dani. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Lily, I know this is a tough time for you, but you are still underage. Do you have anywhere you can stay? I've sent an owl to your sister asking the same thing." Lily scoffed.

"Petunia's got a fear of birds. If she sees an owl coming towards her, she'll flip out. And as for a place to stay, I don't have one. Both my parents were only children. I don't know where to go." Dani, who had been silent the whole time, furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you mean you have no where to stay? You're staying with me." Lily arched an eyebrow.

"Are you serious?" Dani looked offended.

"What do you mean are you serious? Of course I am." Lily tried to object, but Dani shook he head. "No. Shut up. Don't argue. You already have your own room at my house. You're living with me whether you like it or not." Lily wiped her eyes and smiled through her tears.

"Thanks. But shouldn't you ask your parents first?" Dumbledore looked sheepish.

"That actually won't be necessary. I assumed that Lily would be living with Dani, so I went ahead and owled her parents. They can't wait to see you again." Lily nodded.

"Which will be when?"

"Tomorrow night. I've scheduled you, Dani, Peter, James, Sirius, and Remus to leave tomorrow morning on the Hogwarts Express. The best solution for you all right now would be to go get packed. You leave early." The boys nodded and stood up, heading for the door, as Dani helped Lily stand up. The two walked over to the door.

"And Lily?" Dumbledore said as they were leaving. Lily turned around.

"I'm terribly sorry for you. Your parents were some of the nicest people I have ever met. I mean it. I wish there was something I could do." Lily sniffed.

"Same here, Professor. Same here."

* * *

"Lily?" Lily jumped at the sound of her name. She was dressed in her muggle clothing and was sitting next to the lake, staring at it. She had been sitting there for over two hours. The day before, Dumbledore had told her her parents were dead and now she was waiting for the train to come. Lily turned around to see Dani standing behind her, looking worried. "I came to get you. The train's here." Lily nodded and stood up and they walked up to the castle, Dani at her side. They walked until they reached the train platform. The boys were already there, trunks loaded on the train. James saw them coming, and walked over to Dani and held her hand.

"How are you doing, Lily?" He asked slowly. She shrugged.

"I really don't know anymore." James nodded and the three stood there in silence.

"Oi! We're burning daylight here guys! We have to get going if we want to get there by nightfall." Sirius yelled from inside the window. James rolled his eyes.

"Stick your head back in window Black!"

"Why don't you make me?" James turned back to look at Dani and Lily.

"He says this like I won't." Dani giggled and Lily cracked a smile. Together, the three walked over to the train and boarded it, Lily staring at the ground the whole way.

* * *

"Has the train ride always been this long?" Peter asked. They had ridden away from Hogwarts hours ago and all they saw out the window was the England countryside. The boys and Dani were all sitting in a compartment, not exactly sure what to do with themselves. Lily had gone off by herself, about an hour ago, and the group had decided that it was best to leave her alone.

"Is the lady with the candy cart here?" James asked. He and Dani were curled up on one of the seats, him twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. Dani laughed.

"James, there are only six people on the train, not including whoever drives it. I doubt she's on it." James stood up.

"Well I'm going to check anyway. Besides, even if she's not on it, all that candy has got to be stashed somewhere. If I find it do you want anything?" She shrugged.

"I'll eat whatever you bring me." James nodded and turned to look at Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

"What about you lot? You guys want something?" The three shook their heads.

"We ate before we left, remember?" Remus reminded him. James shrugged.

"Yes I remember and I'm hungry again."

"Wait ever you're getting, double it for me." Sirius said simply. Peter nodded.

"Me too." James nodded once and exited the compartment, looking left, before heading right.

* * *

_Now if I were candy on a train, wher_e_ would I be put? Come on. Think. Candy, candy, candy…_ James thought as he roamed. He had walked the full length of the train twice and was tired of looking for something he couldn't find. Just as he was about to turn back, he heard the faintest crying sound. He walked towards one of the compartments and opened it. Inside was Lily with her head in her lap, sobbing, her shoulders shaking. Lily turned when she heard the door open, and quickly tried to hide her face.

"Hey, James. I was…was just on my way back." She said as she stood up and attempted to look like her usual composed self. Her lopsided ponytail, bloodshot puffy eyes, and inability to complete a sentence without tripping over a word, weren't exactly helping. She walked to James and tried to go around him but he placed an arm on her shoulder and stopped her. He closed the doors behind him before pushing her lightly down on the seat. Then he sat down next to her.

"No Lily. You're not leaving this room. You're gonna sit here and cry whether you like it or not. It's natural. You can't hold all this emotion in." Lily, whose eyes were welling up glared at him.

"Oh yeah, Mr. Perfect? How would you know?" James sighed and reached behind his neck. He brought forward a necklace with shark teeth on it and handed it to Lily. She shrugged. "It's the same necklace you've been wearing for over a year now. Why are you showing it to me?"

"Read the name under the clasp." He instructed. Lily held it up to her eyes and squinted. Under the clasp in gold letters was the name _Brittany Potter. _Lily handed it back to James and he refastened it around his neck.

"I thought you were an only child."

"I am. Brittany's my cousin."

"I still don't see the relevance between your story and mine." Lily said crossing her arms. James sighed.

"She found all the shark teeth you know. Went to the beach every day for a whole summer. She called me when she had found them all, she was so excited." James looked down and laughed quietly as he recalled the memory. "I was her best friend." Lily arched an eyebrow.

"Was?"

"Do you remember last year when I went ballistic on Professor Binns?" Lily nodded. It was all anyone could talk about for two months. He had been perfectly fine, but when Binns asked him to pass out the textbooks, he lost it. He started cursing, throwing things, and even flipped over a table. While four people were sitting at it. He then proceeded to storm out of the room, and go down the hall, fighting with whoever was in his way. Finally Sirius, Remus, and Peter were able to stun him and dragged him to the hospital wing. Everyone thought he had either been cursed or possessed, and he wasn't seen for two weeks. He returned to his classes the following Monday, completely normal and acting as if nothing had happened.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"Brittany was a witch. My aunt homeschooled her in magic and the day before the incident in Binns' classroom, she had been attending one of those things that muggles like to see. It's at this big place, with a screen with moving pictures?"

"A movie?" James nodded.

"Yeah that. Anyway, that morning I received a letter that while she was at the movie, she and her friends were attacked by a death eater. Two witches and four muggles dead. All under the age of fourteen." James was staring at the ground as he talked. Lily's tears threaten to spill over again.

"How old was she?"

"She was the youngest. Had just turned twelve. My aunt was in such a state of distress that she couldn't handle it. Her husband had died the week after Brittany's birth, so it had always been just the two of them. She hung herself the next day. I went to their funerals that weekend. And then I was kept in the hospital wing for another week so they could make sure that I wasn't suffering from some sort of mental disease or that I wasn't going to go and swallow any antidepressants." James raised his eyes to meet Lily's. "So I do know exactly what you are talking about. And the only thing you can do right now is to cry. Let it all out." Lily shook her head.

"I can't." James moved closer and placed an arm on her shoulders.

"Yes you can."

"But I-"

"Lillian Marie Evans. I give you permission. Now swallow that damn pride of yours and do what I say." Lily was on the edge of breaking, but there was still something stopping her.

"James-"

"Lily I won't tell anyone." With that, Lily gripped the edges of James' jacket, and buried her face in his shirt. Her body racked with sobs and he wrapped his arms around her. He rocked back and forth as she cried, telling her that everything would be okay and that he, the marauders, and Dani were all there for her no matter what. When the tears had finally subsided, Lily pulled back from James, and wiped her eyes.

"Your shirt's ruined." She said as she looked at his shirt which was covered in wet spots. James looked down and shrugged.

"It's nothing a simple drying spell can't fix." He said. Lily nodded and sniffed.

"How bad do I look right now?" She asked.

"Well, if you tilt your head to the side, and you close your right eye, and then you close your left eye, you look great!" Lily laughed and placed her hands in her lap. James reached over, and pulled the hair tie out of Lily's hair before placing it on her wrist. He then ran his hand through it a few times. "You see. Looking better all ready."

"I'm so sorry about your cousin." Lily said. "I had no idea."

"Well, I didn't exactly go around school proclaiming it. I only told the guys and Dani. The guys went with me to the funeral. Dani would have too, but she didn't want to leave you alone." Lily nodded, remembering how sad Dani was that week when the boys were gone. Now she understood why.

"How'd you get through that? I feel like I'm going to die and like I'll never be happy again." James shrugged.

"I had the guys, Dani, my family, my teachers. Everyone helped. The most important thing is to try to return to normal. Get back into routine. Even you shouting at me helped." Lily smirked.

"Really?"

"Scout's honor."

"Thanks for coming to find me." She said. James grinned shyly.

"Since we're revealing here, I should admit I actually didn't come looking for you. I went looking for food, and happened to hear you crying. But eventually, I would have come looking for you. Promise." Lily giggled and began to rub her shoulders. James stared at her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm tense, over worked, and exhausted. Nothing big."

"Turn around." Lily arched an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You heard me. Turn around."

"What are you gonna do?"

"You'll like it. Trust me." Lily stared at him suspiciously, but slowly turned around. James took a deep breath, and placed his hands on her shoulders. He slowly began to massage them. Lily, who had been tensed from the beginning, slowly began to loosen up. James grinned. "Better?" He asked. Lily nodded.

"Oh yeah." She replied. "How'd you learn how to do that?"

"When I was younger, my mom had a part time job as a masseuse. She taught me." Lily sighed contently.

"She taught you well." She complimented him. They sat in silence for a while as James removed the knot with his hands. When she was no longer tense, James patted her on the shoulders twice, and removed his hands.

"I'm done. You're all good." Lily turned back around.

"Thanks."

"No problem, anything else I can help you with?" Lily looked bashful.

"I don't know if I should tell you."

"Come on. Whatever it is can't be that bad."

"Well, I've been having pain in my lower back lately..." James nodded.

"Don't worry, the doctor is in. There's just one small problem."

"What?"

"In the current position you are in, I can't get you as relaxed as I would if you were lying down."

"So what are you saying?"

"In plain English? Get on the floor. On your stomach. Now." Lily's jaw dropped.

"Excuse me?" James pointed toward the ground.

"You. On the rug. Now."

"James-"

"Do you want the massage or not? Cause we can do it the right way, or the wrong way. Your choice. I should warn you, that if done the wrong way, I could hurt you." Lily looked around before groaning and slowly getting on the floor and lying down on her stomach. She crossed her arms and placed her chin on them. James grinned and tried to contain his excitement.

"You aren't gonna rape me are you?" Lily asked hesitantly. James scoffed.

"Only if you beg for it." Lily rolled her eyes and grinned to herself.

"Don't count on it." James kneeled on the ground and rubbed his hand together.

"Ready?" He asked. Lily nodded. James let out a breath and placed his hands on her back.

* * *

"Where is James with my snacks?" Sirius said as he stood up. Dani, who was lying down on the seat, with her feet propped up on the window shrugged.

"I don't know. But he's been gone a long time. Remus, where do you suppose our Prongs is?"

"He's either located the candy cart, or he's lost on the train."

"And both are completely probable." Peter added as he placed another card on his card tower.

"Well I'm gonna go look for him. I'm not letting him eat all that candy by himself. Dani are you coming?" Dani groaned and pulled looked at him upside down.

"Do I have to?"

"No, but if I do find it, I hope you are aware that I'm not bringing you back anything." Dani glared.

"Fine, you loser." She rolled off the seat and she dusted herself off. When she was standing upright, Sirius slid open the compartment door and they both walked out. Remus, got up from the floor and sat in Dani's evacuated seat.

"Moony?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever realized that Dani and Sirius and Lily and James are always leaving the two of us alone?" Remus, who had been reading, looked up from his book and stared at Peter.

"Yeah, I've noticed. And when they start dating the right people, it's going to get a lot worse."

"Moony, will you ever leave me?" Remus looked up from his book and gave Peter (who had been turning red) a small smile.

"Nah, Pete. I'll be right here."

* * *

"Sirius, carry me!"

"No!"

"Please!"

"No!"

"But I said please!"

"And I said no!"

"...Please?"

"Fine. Get on." Dani squealed and without warning jumped on Sirius' back. He groaned from the impact and placed his arms under her legs. "Next time you plan on doing that, give me a little heads up please!" Dani nodded.

"Kay! Prance horsy, prance!"

"Call me a horsy one more time, and I'm gonna drop you."

"Horsy's a little temperamental." Sirius loosened his hold on her legs. "I'll stop! I'll stop! I swear!" Sirius tightened his hold again and continued walking. A while later, she whispered in his ear. "I know where you live."

"Okay, what are you on, who'd you get it from and where can I get some?" Dani giggled.

"The answer you are looking for is too complex to explain. And I'm not allowed to reveal my sources."

"It's Remus, isn't it?"

"How'd you know?" Sirius scoffed.

"Who do you think supplies me with mine?" The two giggled for a bit, before they were silent once more.

"Padfoot?"

"Yeah, Fireyes?"

"Do me a favor?"

"Does it involve drugs?"

"Not today."

"Then what is it?"

"Don't change. Ever." Sirius, who hadn't been expecting that answer, stopped walking and put Dani down. He turned around to face her.

"Okay. What's going on?" Dani shook her head.

"Nothing."

"Then why don't I believe you?" Dani shrugged.

"I don't know." Sirius sighed. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the nearest compartment. He shut the door behind them, and pulled her down into the seat next to him.

"Okay. It's just you and me now. No one else. Tell me what's going on." Dani shrugged and stood up.

"There's nothing to tell. Just, always be you. No matter what."

"There has to be some reason that brought it up. What is it?" Dani crossed her arms and sighed.

"You'll think I'm crazy."

"Cause I don't already think you are." He said sarcastically. Dani hit him on the shoulder.

"I'm serious."

"And I'm waiting for you to tell me what's going on."

"I don't know what's going on. It's just lately, I've been realizing that we're not invincible, like we used to think we were. We're human. Like Lily's parents? I never expected that. It's like a repeat of Brittany all over again. Do you realize that a year from now, our 7th year will almost be over? What's gonna happen when we get in the real world? I don't think any of us are ready." Sirius stared at her.

"What does any of this have to do with me changing?"

"Because, if you stay the same, it'll make me feel like not everything is completely spiraling out of control. And that there's at least one thing I can count on."

"You can always count on James staying the same." Sirius offered up. Dani shook her head and ran a hand through her hair.

"No, I can't. I was certain he'd always like Lily. And he doesn't anymore. I was always certain that he'd be the most irresponsible and annoying boyfriend, and he's one of the sweetest and most attentive. He's changing. We all are. And I just...I'm afraid of who I'm changing into." Sirius sighed and patted the spot next to him.

"Dani, sit." She did as she asked. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes.

"I'll never change. Ever. I'll always be the guy who even if you are grown and married and have twenty-four kids, will call you at four in the morning to borrow a cup of sugar, even though I live six hours away. And know that, if you need me, I'll always be here. Always." He gave her his signature Black smile and she smiled back. Then she jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Thanks Black." She said into his neck. "I don't think you understand just how much those sentences mean." Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I think I do." Sirius cleared his throat. Dani?"

"Hmm?"

"You're chocking me." Dani pulled back and loosened her hold.

"Sorry." She said.

"No problem." The two sat in silence and stared at each other, Dani seated on Sirius' lap. Sirius ran his hand up and down her back and Dani ran a hand through his hair. He groaned at her touch. Sirius nervously cleared his throat. "Dani?"

"Hmm?" She said her eyes on his the whole time.

"Tell me if you want me to stop." He said as he slowly leaned closer. When Dani didn't pull back, he grew confident. When their lips collided, he sighed. Part of him felt guilty about betraying his best friend. The other part was yelling at the first part to shut up and enjoy. _'Besides Dani's the one dating James. Shouldn't' she be telling me to stop?' _And she definitely was not objecting. Sometime during their initial kiss, Sirius' hand had sneaked its way up her calf and up her skirt, where it was resting just under her knickers. She turned so that she was now straddling Sirius, with one leg on each side of him.

Dani pulled back for air, and Sirius attacked her neck, trying to maintain some sort of skin on skin contact. While he was busy trying to mark her as his, Dani was working on unbuttoning his shirt. When she had succeeded, she pushed it off his shoulders and ran her hands up and down his bare chest. Sirius moaned against her collarbone and Dani smirked.

"We...we shouldn't...be doing this." He said breathlessly. Dani pulled her shirt off as well and attached her lips back to his.

"Are you saying you want to stop?" She whispered against his lips. Sirius smirked, and moved the hand that had been on her back to join the hand that was under her skirt. He ran one of his hands over the spot where her legs met her pelvis. Dani moaned at the contact. Sirius pulled back to look in her glazed over eyes.

"I think that you might have a breakdown if we did." Dani glared and rolled her hips in a way that brushed against Sirius' very prominent erection. He gasped.

"I think you might have one as well." She responded before rolling her hips again. As she kept up her blissful torture, she moved her hands to his pants and undid the belt, button, and the zipper before Sirius caught on to what she was doing. When he did, he raised his hips and pulled down his pants till they were around his ankles. He sighed in relief that he was no longer restricted.

"Your turn." He said. Sirius slipped his hands up and slowly pulled down her soaked knickers, lifting each of her legs to pull them off completely. When they were off, the only thing in between their private areas were Sirius' boxers.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked. In response, Dani picked up his wand that was on the floor, and vanished his boxers, before performing a contraceptive charm.

"That answer your question?" She asked in a low husky voice. Dani went to remove her bra, but Sirius stopped her.

"Leave it. The skirt and shoes too. Incredibly sexy." He said with his eyes closed. Dani did as he asked and scooted up on his lap. Until his erection was at her entrance. Sirius opened his eyes and met hers as she lifted her hips. He placed his hands on them and slowly lowered her onto him. When he was fully sheltered in her heat, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "Dani." He groaned.

"Siri. Fuck me. Please." She begged. Sirius smiled as he lifted his head and kissed her again.

"So you wish it, so it shall be." And with that, he raised her hips again and brought her right back down on him. Dani gasped.

"Sirius!" Sirius smirked as he bit her shoulder, continuing his actions. He loved when she said his name. Dani threw her head back as she continued to bounce up and down on him. She laughed.

"What?" Sirius grunted.

"Now you really are a horsy." Sirius was about to retort, when Dani rolled her hips again causing all attempts at speech impossible. As their movements got faster, Dani placed her hands on Sirius' shoulders and tightened her grip.

"Are you close?" he whispered. She nodded.

"Sirius..." She moaned. Sirius reached between them and flicked her clit, which drove her over the edge. A few seconds later, he joined her as well. Sirius continued to thrust in her as they both came down from their high. When they were both completely spent, they sat there in silence, Sirius still inside of Dani. Just as they were both nodding off, Sirius' head snapped off and he realized what they had just done. He had just had sex with Dani. The girl he had wanted for over a year. His best friend's girlfriend. And all he wanted was to do it again. He had liked it. He had liked it a lot. Dani, seemed to snap out of her trance the same time that Sirius did, and the two stared at each other in shock. Finally Dani jumped off Sirius' lap, and began searching for her clothes. Sirius pulled up his boxers and redid his pants. When they were both properly dressed once more, they nodded at each other and proceeded to walk out of the compartment and down the hall. They were in silence before Dani broke it.

"Sirius, what happened back there-" Sirius shook his head.

"I know. It didn't." Dani nodded.

"Right. It's just that we were both so caught up-"

"Emotions running high-"

"I was a wreck-"

I took advantage-"

"It was wrong-"

"And it won't happen again." Sirius finished. Dani firmly nodded in agreement.

And James-"

"Never finds out." Sirius concluded. He stuck out his hand. "Deal?" Dani shook it.

"Deal."

_**Wow. Dani's getting alot of action lately isn't she? Hehehe...the little slut...JK!...I wonder who's bigger, James or Sirius?...hmm...how about that for a Christmas gift...anyway, happy holidays to all and I look forward to continuing this story in the new year! **_

_**P.S. the next chapter will be titled Chapter 16-Adventures on the Hogwarts Express Part Two and Meeting Petunia!**_

_**P.S.S Reviewing would be a very nice Christmas present...**_


	16. Adventures on the HogwartsExpressPartTwo

_**I'M UPDATING! TWO TIMES! ENJOY! AND HAS ANYONE BEEN TO HARRY POTTER WORLD YET? IF YOU HAVE TELL ME WHAT IT WAS LIKE? :D **_

"Oh, James! That feels wonderful. Don't stop." Remus stopped in his tracks when he heard the words spoken in a voice that sounded just like Lily's. He had been headed on his way to the loo, but all thoughts of using it left his head as he looked at the compartment where he was sure the voice had come from. There was no way…

"As you wish Lily." James said. Remus had to slap his hands over his mouth to stop his gasp from being heard. What the bloody hell were the two sworn enemies doing in there?

"James. Lower." Lily said in a voice that was entirely too breathy and with breath so shallow Remus could swear that it wasn't hers. Remus' eyes widened and it took all of his willpower to not swing open the door to see what they were doing.

"Are you sure Lily? I mean, we just started what I guess you could call a friendship. Are you sure you want me to-"

"Either go lower or leave." She snapped at him. Remus heard James pause on the other side of the door. His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for James to answer.

"If you're sure."

"Of course I'm sure." Lily bantered. "When have I, Lily Evans ever been known to not be su- James!" Lily groaned. Remus, positive he could no longer control his body's functions, took off sprinting back to his compartment. When he got there, he opened the door before entering and sitting down. Peter gave him an odd look.

"Remus? Are you okay?"

"No, and if you had just witnessed what I had, you wouldn't be either." Remus responded as he ran a hand through his hair. Peter, who had been lying on his back on the compartment floor, sat up.

"What did you see?" Remus shrugged and crossed his arms as he paced.

"Well, I didn't actually see anything. But I heard it! Man did I hear it!" By this point, Peter had grown impatient with his friend's avoidance of his questions.

"What did you hear, Remus?" Remus took a deep breath.

"I heard James and Lily having sex." Peter's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?" Remus nodded gloomily.

"Would I lie about something like this?" Peter looked at the ground as he thought this over.

"Isn't this a good thing though? I mean they are finally together. Isn't this what we've been waiting for?" Remus shook his head.

"Well yes, but he's dating Dani. Lily's best friend. Dani will go full Temperantrus mode and completely murder Lily when she finds out." Peter liked confused.

"What do you mean, _'when she finds out?'_ Who's gonna tell her?"

"Lily's conscious will get the better of her-" Remus started.

"And her want to live will override her conscience. No one's dumb enough to pick a fight with Dani, whether she's transformed or not. I honestly doubt Lily wants to end up in St. Mungos." Remus and Peter both shuddered as they recalled visiting Snape when he had regained consciousness after she had attacked him. It was not something they wanted to relive.

"Prongs will warn her not to tell a soul." Peter continued. "And though she doesn't like him, she'll do it. No one but the four of us will ever have to know."

"Five." Remus corrected. Peter shook his head.

"No four. You, me, James and Lily."

"And when James tells Sirius, it will make five." Remus finished.

"You really think he'll tell Sirius?" Peter questioned.

"Wormtail, does a bird fly? Of course he's going to bloody tell Sirius. James will most likely tell all three of us when we get to his house before making us swear to never tell a soul." Peter nodded an agreement.

"It's a good thing Dani can't read minds. Or we'd all be screwed."

* * *

"So what do we tell Remus and Peter happened?" Dani asked as she and Sirius neared the compartment door. The two had been discussing their cover up story for the past couple of minutes, making sure there were no holes what so ever. After exiting the compartment, they had unruffled their clothes, fixed their hair (and in Dani's case, also her make-up) and they had made sure that it was impossible to tell what had just transpired between the two of them. Sirius rolled his eyes, clearly at his wits end with both the questions and the constant reminder of how badly he wanted to drag her back to the compartment for round two.

"Dani, we've gone through it five times. We tell them we went up and down the entire train four times and couldn't find the cart. But we only say so if they ask. If they don't, we don't say a word and enter as if it was normal. Merlin, Dani it's not as if you were the first girl I've had sex with on this bloody train! I think I know how to cover my tracks by now." Sirius said, annoyed by her constant nagging. He kept walking as she froze, causing him to miss her expression sink into one of sadness. When he turned around to wait for her to catch up, she quickly wiped it off and acted as if his comment meant nothing.

'_Just like our sex.'_ Dani grimly thought. _'It. Meant. Nothing.'_

_

* * *

_

"Hey guys! Did you two find the candy cart?" Remus asked when the compartment door opened to reveal Dani and Sirius. The two shared a look and shrugged.

"Nope. Walked up and down the entire train." Sirius said as he flopped down on the seat. "Twice. Didn't find anything." Peter looked sceptical.

"You two walked?" Dani shook her head.

"No. Sirius walked. I rode." Her eyes widened at the double meaning. "On his back!" She quickly corrected. "He gave me a piggy back ride."

"What other kind of ride is there?" Peter said while laughing. The other three joined in, though Sirius and Dani's laughter was just a little too forced. Once they had all quieted, Remus looked at his two friends.

"You walked up and down the whole train?" He asked. Sirius and Dani nodded. "From one end to another?" They nodded in unison once more. "Did you two happen to see anything, or maybe hear anything unusual?" Sirius arched an eyebrow.

"No." He said while looking his friend up and down. Dani sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. Remus nodded and licked his suddenly dry lips.

"Oh, okay. Just wondering, is all." He said while looking down in his lap and twiddling his thumbs. He could feel the sting of Dani's sharp glare on him. Suddenly, the temperature in the compartment rose ten degrees.

'_Crap.'_ Remus thought. _'Why did I open my mouth?'_ Remus thought, mentally kicking himself for being so stupid. Peter, who was seating on the seat with Sirius, reached into the collar of his shirt, trying to breathe.

"Remus?" Dani quietly called. "Is there something you're not telling me?" Remus, who was now sweating, continued to stare at his hands.

'_Please don't let her be getting angry. For the love of all that is sweet and just in this world, please do not let her be getting angry.' _ Remus silently pleaded. When he finally looked up, he saw that his pleas had fallen on death ears. Her skirt, which moments before had been a light blue, was now blood red. Her black boots were also a vivid red. As Remus' eyes ranked over her, he saw that the red in her hair was still rising as was the heat in the room. _'Damn.'_ He thought. _'Why'd I have to go and say that?'_

"Remus," Dani called yet again. "Is there something you're not telling me?" Remus averted his eyes and looked down. "Remus? Where are Lily and

James?"

"At the front of the train." He answered in a quiet voice. Dani nodded and slowly stood up, before calmly walking out of the compartment. Sirius, Remus, and Peter exchanged glances before quickly exiting the compartment.

"Dani, think about this." Sirius said. Dani feigned innocence.

"Think about what, Black? I simply want to see my boyfriend and my best friend."

"Want to see them or want to kill them?" Peter asked. "Because you're still turning red." Dani stopped at his comment and closed her eyes while taking a few deep breaths. The red in her hair began to shrink, as well as the red in her clothes. When it was completely gone, Dani opened her eyes and began to walk once more.

"See? I'm fine. And as long as the two of them aren't doing anything inappropriate, they will be too." By this time, the four had reached the compartment and they could hear muffled sounds from inside.

"It's James." Remus said. "James snores. He's most likely asleep." Dani was about to add a side comment, when a sound from inside distracted her.

"James!" Dani glared at the door.

"If James is asleep, why is Lily moaning his name?" Dani asked through gritted teeth.

"She's asleep too?" Sirius offered weakly. Dani rolled her eyes before yanking the door open.

* * *

Lily and James turned to see the door open and reveal their four friends. Both turned bright red and James jumped off of Lily's back.

"Dani! Guys! Wha-what's up?" James stuttered. Lily jumped off the floor and ran her hands over her clothes, before running them in her hair.

"Dani, I swear this is not what it looks like." Lily quickly said, trying to reassure her. Dani crossed her arms and looked back and forth between the two.

"You," She said while pointing at Lily. "Weren't sleeping with him?" She said while pointing at James. Lily quickly shook her head.

"No. Not at all."

"And you," She said while pointing at James. "Weren't sleeping with her?" She said while pointing at Lily. James stepped forward and rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

"Dani, you know me. I don't cheat on my girlfriends. I have the decency to break up with a girl if I want to date someone else." Dani arched an eyebrow. "Not that I'm planning on breaking up with you for anyone else anytime soon. Cause I'm not." Dani stepped back out of his reach.

"Then why was Lily on the floor and why were you on top of her?" She asked her voice completely impassive, Sirius, Peter and Remus watching on in complete silence.

"Well, when I went looking for the candy cart, I ran into Lily and she was crying. So I told her about Brittany and I comforted her. And then she told me how tense she was, and I offered to give her a massage but in order for it to be done right, she had to be lying on her stomach, and that meant the floor." James quickly explained. As he told her he watched her expression and her attire carefully. When she had entered, she wasn't red, and she wasn't red now either. James exhaled in relief. She wasn't going to kill them.

"Is this true, Lily?" Dani asked.

"Completely. I'd never try to take your boyfriend, Dani. I wouldn't do that to you." Dani nodded and grinned.

"Good. For a second there, I was afraid I'd have to kill you both." Dani said while laughing before turning serious once more. "Seriously. Don't ever give me that option."

* * *

"Lily! I'm so sorry! Your parents were some of the nicest people. They deserved better." Lily inhaled Miranda Carlson's perfume as she was gripped into a tight bear hug. Lily stepped back and sent her a weak smile.

"Thanks Miranda. For taking me in and everything. I hope I'm won't be a burden." Waken Carlson, who had been pulling the girls' trunks off the train, dropped them and walked over, waving his hand as if shooing away the statement.

"Lily, you haven't been a burden since the day we met you and I don't think you will start being one now. Besides, this way Dani will stop complaining about how she never gets to see you in the summer because you'll be in the room next door."

"Dad, why is it that every time I come back from school, the first thing I hear is you insulting me?" Dani said as she walked up to the trio, with James and the rest of the boys in tow. Waken shrugged.

"Because you're my daughter and it's my job to keep you as level headed as possible." Dani rolled her eyes before hugging him and giving him a kiss on each cheek.

"Hello boys." Miranda said.

"Miranda." The boys chorused back. Sirius stepped forward and bent down to kiss her hand.

"How are you today? Did you lose weight, because you look amazing." Miranda rolled her eyes and pushed Sirius, but giggled all the same.

"Still the same old Sirius." She said causing the boy in question to smirk.

"Would you still love me if I wasn't?" Waken, who had been watching the whole exchange in silence, finally stepped forward.

"Hey, watch it Black. That's mine." Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Peter, Remus, your parents are outside and they said that first thing tomorrow, you'll be apparating to James' house." Peter and Remus nodded in understanding. "Waken, go get the bags from where you dropped them." Waken went over to retrieve them, when Dani stopped him.

"James will get mine, Daddy." Both James and Waken turned to stare at her.

"He will?"

"HE WILL?" Dani turned to glare at her boyfriend.

"Yes. He will." She said through clenched teeth. James rolled his eyes before bending over and doing as she said. Remus and Peter snickered behind him.

"Hey James, how does it feel?" Remus asked. James arched an eyebrow.

"What?"

"How does it feel to be completely whipped?" Peter explained as the two tried to hold in their laughter. Miranda stopped them before it got ugly.

"Alright, that's enough." She said as she wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Let's go home, shall we?"

* * *

"So which one do you want?" Sirius asked. They had arrived in front of the Carlson's and Potter's humble homes. Both had four levels: an upstairs, a downstairs, a basement, and the attic/loft. Both homes had spacious backyards, and were designed to look just like the muggle houses around them. In between the two houses stood a giant oak tree, the branches stretching from one window in James' house to another in Dani's. James and Sirius were standing outside of the car, in front of the two houses. On the drive over from King's Cross, Lily and Dani had both fallen asleep and the girls had looked too peaceful to disturb by waking them up. While Dani's parents took all four teenagers luggage, the boys contemplated how they were getting the girls in the house. James shrugged.

"We could draw straws." He suggested. Sirius thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

"That would require us to enter the house, enter a closet, choose straws, and then come all the way back out here. That's just wasting energy." James arched an eyebrow.

"Black, are you sure it's not due to the fact that you're incredibly lazy?" Sirius shrugged.

"That could be it. So what do we do?" James thought for a few seconds before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of parchment and a pen. He then proceeded to rip the parchment in half.

"On this piece of parchment, I'll write Lily's name, and on this one, Dani's. I'll throw both pieces in the air and we each grab one when I say so." James narrated as he did the actions. Sirius nodded.

"That seems fair." James crumpled up both pieces of parchment till they were paper balls.

"Ready?" He asked. Sirius nodded. "Okay. On my count. One." He held a piece of paper in each hand. "Two." He threw them in the air. "And now." As the balls fell, he and Sirius both scrambled for one. Sirius opened his first before grinning.

"Looks like you got stuck with Evans, mate." Sirius said as he showed James Dani's name on the paper. James looked down and saw _Lily _scribbled on his own piece of paper. It took all his willpower not to jump up and down in utter ecstasy, and to keep his facial expressions in check. When he looked up at Sirius, he put on a fake frown. Sirius clapped him on the back.

"Don't worry mate. I'll take good care of your girlfriend." James glared at his fellow housemate.

"Watch it, Black. And when I say it, I mean your hands. They have a bad reputation of wandering places they shouldn't be." Sirius was about to make a remark, but after thinking about what had occurred earlier on the train, he decided to keep his mouth shut. Sirius walked around the car to the other side, where Dani was closer to the door. He reached in, and ever so gently, picked her up in his arms and pulled her out of the vehicle. When she was out of the car, he looked up, to see that James had done the same with Lily. The two boys walked up to Dani's front porch steps, where her parents had been watching with small smiles on their faces.

"Well don't just stand there." Waken said when James and Sirius stopped in front of them. "Take them to their rooms. I know for a fact that the two of you know how to get there."

"And your trunks are already next door." Miranda reminded. "So, will you two be leaving through the front, the fireplace, or the tree?" As James and Sirius ascended the stairs, they shared a look.

"Tree." They both replied. The two adults chuckled.

"Should I have expected anything different?" Miranda questioned to herself.

"Well good night boys. See you in the morning."

"Night." They chorused before returning to carefully walking up the stairs, taking extra precaution to not disturb the sleeping girls. When they were out of ear shot, Miranda sighed.

"I just don't get it." Waken quizzically stared at his wife.

"Get what?"

"Our daughter and why she's dating James. Didn't it always seem like she'd end up with Sirius?" Waken shrugged.

"I guess so. But James is just like him. Only difference is that James probably is a little more level-headed." Miranda shook her head.

"It just doesn't feel right." Her statement caused her husband to arch an eyebrow.

"Are you going to tell your daughter who she can and can't date?"

"And have her chew my head off? No thank you. All I'm saying is the chemistry between her and Sirius is stronger than that among her and James. Besides, her dating your best friend is such a teenage cliché." Waken laughed at his wife's last statement and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Sometimes I think raising a boy would've been easier." Miranda nodded thoughtfully.

"Do you want to find out?"

* * *

"Should we put them in their beds?" Sirius asked when they had reached the second floor. James arched an eyebrow as he pushed against the door of the room Lily stayed in while she was at Dani's house. Luckily, it was slightly cracked open, so all he had to do was push on it lightly. Dani's bedroom door was the same.

"How else are they supposed to get there, Black?" James rolled his eyes as he spoke. Sirius shrugged.

"Should we tuck them in as well?" Sirius asked sarcastically causing James to glare at his best mate.

"Black, I swear if your hands go anywhere they shouldn't-"

"You'll cut off my bits and sell them on the black market? James, I know my limits. Dani's one of my closest friends and I wouldn't want to ruin that." James appraised him silently, before giving a slight nod of his head. He then entered Lily's room. The summer after their third year, while Lily's parents went on vacation with Petunia and her boyfriend, Lily had stayed over at Dani's house, and the spare bedroom had been dubbed as hers. The walls were even painted a light green to match her eyes. Within the green, were sparkles so that no matter where you looked at it, it shined. And due to Lily's current housing arrangement, the room was officially hers.

Her closet was already storing the clothes she had left at Dani's house over the years, and the few outfits that had been found on site at her parents' house. She would have to go shopping for more once she was more settled in, James figured. He gently deposited her on the bed, taking extra care to avoid having her lie down on her hair. He then slowly untied her trainers and placed them at the foot of her bed. He covered her with the strategically placed blanket and stood watching her in silence. He ran a hand through her hair and smiled when she sighed in content. It was so simple. She was right there. All he had to do was lean in...and kiss her. She was in deep sleep. It'd be impossible for her to tell who had done it. Now if he could only force his spine to do the work of his heart...

* * *

In the room next door, Sirius was contemplating the same thing. He, like James, had removed Dani's shoes and had made sure to bury her under her sheets. He looked around the room, to keep his eyes off of her. Her walls were a mixture of a bright red and black, like most of her things. On her ceiling were the painted eyes of a tiger, and underneath was _**Dare-Devil Dani. **_A door across the room conjoined hers and Lily's bedrooms and a door next to it stood Dani's bathroom. In a far corner of the room, sat Mike's cage, and Mike was securely in it, sound asleep. Behind the cage was Dani's closet, and the door residing next to it, was Dani's storage. There was also a fireplace with a small bag upon its mantle. James had an identical in his own room. Sirius' eyes averted to her carpeted floor, taking a few seconds to observe its softness, as he did every time he saw it. After a few more seconds of stalling, his eyes finally returned to Dani, to see that she had curled up in a ball within her bed, and appeared to be trying to absorb the fragrances of her sheets by rubbing her face in them in delight. Sirius watched her for a few more moments before running a hand through his hair.

This was not good. This was not good at all. At first, he could brush off his feelings for Dani as brotherly. Then they evolved into a small crush. Now he had without the slightest doubt fallen in both love and lust with Dani. It took all his strength not to get in the bed beside her and kiss her until he was her only thought. He swallowed harshly and glared at the air as he thought of James dating her. His fists clenched as he pondered on the depths of their relationship. How deep of a level were they connected? They matched each other intellectually, and were clearly physically compatible but what about emotionally? What were they like when they were alone, just the two of them? And what he wanted to know most of all: Had Dani and James slept together? And if so how often?

Sirius began to scowl as he pictured the two together. James touching Dani, James kissing Dani, James making Dani writhe in unadulterated pleasure. Sirius could see James' smirk as he drew out her climax, could picture Dani calling out James' name for all to hear as her nails dug into his back. The bitter taste of jealously rose on his tongue as he imagined them cuddling afterward, both basking in the glow that is post-sex. James twirling a strand of her hair as he told her how amazing she was, how perfect she was, how he loved her. Dani would grin and reply the same. With each new image he conjured up, Sirius just got sicker and sicker. Just when he was about to run next door and kill James, Dani let out a groan that caused him to stop and look towards her.

She tossed and turned for a few seconds before finally coming to a comfortable stop on the opposite side of that which she had started on. Sirius sighed once more. This was really not good.

* * *

'_Do it.'_

'_Don't you dare.'_

'_Do it!'_

'_No! Don't!'_

'_You know you want to...'_

'_If he wanted to sleep with Snape would he do that as well?'_

'_Of course not! Why would he ever want to sleep with Snape?' _

James groaned and ran a hand through his hair. He'd been standing over Lily and watching her sleep for the past ten minutes. During that time period, his logic and his heart had been having an argument on whether or not he should lean in, or just walk away.

'_You're dating Dani. If you were to kiss Lily right now you would be cheating on her.'_

'_No he wouldn't! The whole reason he started dating Dani was to get Lily! Don't you remember?'_

'_But he's slowly beginning to fall for Dani!'_

'_No he's not!'_

'_And how would you know?'_

'_Oh, I'm sorry, but the last time I checked I WAS HIS HEART! Sure Dani is gorgeous and perfect and warm and everything James could ever possibly want, but she'll never have that fire that Lily has. That passion that's as alluring as her hair. So soft and silky...Besides what makes you think he's falling for Dani?'_

'_Well even if he's not, he should! They're perfect for each other, as Sirius has pointed out before. They know everything about each other and they couldn't be closer if they tried.'_

'_But that's such a stereotypical cliché! The two best mates who had known and lived next to each other all their lives falling for each other? Could you please just be a little creative than that?'_

'_Me? What about you and how you went and made him fall for his enemy? If that's not the biggest load of BS then I don't know what is!'_

'_Oh shut up!'_

'_No! You shut up!'_

"I wish you both would shut up." James muttered under his breath and closed his eyes. Was his logic right? Had he slowly began to fall in love with Dani? Sure she had always been there and yeah, he could tell her anything and without a second's hesitation he would kill anyone who even thought about harming her, but did that mean he was in love with her?

James thought back to all the good times they had had, and how it never seemed as if there was an awkward moment when they were together. He smiled when he as he thought of his favorite Temperantrus. How she was always in a good mood, how she always smelled nice even after a muddy Quidditch practice, how soft her skin was when he touched her, and how she understood him like no one else did.

When Brittany had been murdered, he had contemplated suicide and he had been so lost and confused. He didn't feel like he could tell the guys because he thought they'd think he was crazy which would only make him feel even more isolated and alone. So he ran to Dani. She didn't say much. She just held him while he cried, rubbing his back, and slept in his bed with him for a week so he wouldn't feel as if he was alone. When it was time for the funeral and she had decided to stay at Hogwarts, it nearly crushed him. But the fact that she wrote him everyday helped to ease the pain a little. She was everything he could have ever wanted and his parents already referred to her as their daughter. Plus, she didn't look too bad in a bikini. So was his logic right? Had he done the ultimate cliché by falling for the literally next door?

James opened his eyes and stared down at the girl in front of him. His throat locked and all air left him as he gazed at her. She was now lying on her back and her hair was fanned out in a way that surrounded her pale face in a light glow of red, giving her an almost angelic look. His fallen angel. James swallowed harshly. He realized that no matter how much he cared for Dani and how great she was, she could never hold a candle next to Lily when it came to how he felt about her. Dani didn't have the same effect on him as Lily and she never would, even if she tried. His logic could try and tell him all sort of things to get him to believe that He and Dani were meant to be, but he knew that his heart would always belong to the fiery redhead lying in front of him and there was nothing he could do to take it back. If she told him that in order to date her he'd have to jump out of her window right now, he would dive headfirst. And, that was really not good.

_**IT'S NOT OVER! THERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER! CLICK IT! BUT FIRST REVIEW! VIRTUAL COOKIE TO YOU IF YOU DO**_! :D


	17. Meeting Petunia

"Prongs, wake up!" Sirius said as he poured the bucket of water onto James bed, successfully succeeding in completely drenching his best mate. James rose from his slumber and stuttered as he untangled himself from his now soaked sheets. He glared at Sirius who was standing in front of him with the purest look of innocence he could muster.

"What the hell Black! What was that for?"

"Your mother told me to wake you up." He replied while rocking back and forth on his heels. James crossed his arms.

"And you couldn't just shake me or push me off my bed?" Sirius thought about it for a moment.

"No, that would have been too simple. I like complicated."

"Yet you can't seem to date anyone with a brain capacity higher than that of an eight-year-old." Sirius stared at James in silence before taking the bucket and hitting him in the back of the knees. James fell and stared up at Sirius in shock.

"Peter and Remus are here which is why your mom asked me to wake you. On the bright side now you don't have to take a shower." Sirius said evilly as he walked out of James' room, leaving him on the floor. After staying on the floor for a few more seconds, James got up and walked towards his adjoining bathroom, making a mental note to tell his mom to dry his sheets later.

Some twenty minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and headed down the stairs. He arrived in the kitchen to find the rest of the house's occupants already there. His mom was fiddling around with something in a cupboard, his dad was at the stove flipping pancakes, Sirius was sitting on the kitchen counter, and Remus and Peter were sitting in chairs at the breakfast bar. He stood in the doorway and watched as his mom walked over from the closet to his dad and handed him a box of something James couldn't quite make out.

His parents had met on their first day at the Ministry of Magic. Both were Unspeakable, so James wasn't exactly sure what they did or what it was that drove them together, but ever since that fateful day, the two had been inseparable and even after twenty years of marriage they still acted like two love struck teens. After watching in silence for a little while longer, James cleared his throat to make his presence known.

"Morning honey." **Katharine** Potter said as she walked over to her son. For the past few years, since James' massive growth spurt, his mother had had to look up at her son from her height of five foot three. Katharine had dirty blonde hair that always seemed to be in tons of curls that fell down her back. James had inherited her brown eyes, caring nature and sharp witted tongue. Katherine ruffled his hair. "Did you enjoy your wake call?" James glared down at his mother.

"No, and now you have to dry my bed." Tyler Potter chuckled from his spot at the stove as he flipped another pancake.

"I told you not to let Sirius wake him up." He said teasingly to his wife. James was the spitting image of his father, except for Tyler's blue eyes and more prominent cheekbones. James had gained his height, his hair, his smirk, his build and even his near-sightedness. From a distance, the two could pass for twins. And up close, Tyler looked more like James' brother than his father and he acted more like it too. Katherine threw a glare at her husband and stuck out her tongue.

"The job was to get James up, out of bed, dressed and down those stairs. As far as I can see, he did exactly what he was asked and I don't really care about the process of how it was done. Thank you Sirius." She said directing the last statement at the boy still on top of the counter. Sirius smiled and winked.

"My pleasure Katherine." James rolled his eyes before sitting down in the seat next to Remus.

"So what are we doing today, boys?" He asked. Remus who had been reading the paper cleared his throat.

"We're going with Lily and Dani to...er...see...Lily's house. Well, what's left of it." Remus said all this while keeping his eyes on the paper in his hands. When he looked up, James nodded.

"When should we head over?"

"Dani said come over when we were all ready." Peter piped. "So as soon as you eat, we can go." James turned to his parents.

"Is it cool if we leave now?" Katherine closed the refrigerator and walked over to stand beside her husband. She nodded.

"Of course honey. But eat something before you go." Tyler's watched beeped and he whistled when he peered down at it.

"Kat, we gotta go. We have that thing at work that we have to handle." Tyler said as he untied the apron from around his waist and headed towards the coat closet. Katherine nodded and walked across the bar.

"Now boys, Tyler and I have a very important mission we are working on today and we will not be able to be reached. We're not in danger!" She quickly clarified at seeing the looks of terror on the four faces in front of her.

"It's just very classified and top secret."

"Isn't everything you do classified and top secret?" Peter asked.

"That's beside the point. We won't be back till after midnight, at earliest. Now, that does not mean, you four have range to party like crazy. You are to be back in this house by 11:00 at the latest. If you are not here, you should be at Dani's house. Is that clear? Remus?"

"Yes Katherine."

"Peter?"

"Yes Katherine."

"Sirius?"

"Yes Katherine."

"James?"

"Yes Katherine." Katherine playfully pulled her son's ear.

"That is now and forever will be mum to you, understand?" James laughed as he tried to remove his mother's hand from his appendage.

"Yes, mum." Katherine let go and kissed his forehead.

"Good." Tyler took that moment to enter, holding out his wife's coat and wearing his.

"Kat, we've got to hurry or we'll be late." Katherine rolled her eyes before stepping forward to put on her jacket. Once it was on, she grabbed her husband's hand.

"Boys," She said looking at the teens in front of her, "Remember what I said. 11:00."

"Goodbye boys." Tyler said.

"We love you." Katherine added. Tyler nodded in agreement, and then the next moment, they apparated with a _pop._ James stood.

"Well, no time like the present to head over. " Remus looked up from his paper.

"Mate, aren't you hungry?" James looked at the untouched plate full of pancakes on the table. He picked it up and went to go place it in the refrigerator.

"I'll eat it when we get back. I don't think we should keep them waiting any more than necessary." His three friends nodded in agreement. Sirius jumped off the counter and the three headed out of the kitchen and into the living room, where the grand fireplace was located. James grabbed a small pouch from on the top of the fireplace, and took a handful of Floo Powder before stepping into the fireplace.

"Carlson Residence!" James yelled loud and clear before being enveloped in green flames.

* * *

"I love how even though you live right next door, you couldn't walk over here." James opened his eyes to see Dani standing in the doorway of the library/family study. James grinned and stepped out of the fireplace. He shrugged.

"Why exert extra energy where it's not needed?" Dani rolled her eyes and stood on her tip-toes, reaching up to brush soot from his hair.

"You lazy git." She said before leaning forward to kiss him. James kissed her back just as Sirius arrived behind him.

"Ew." He groaned. "James that is in direct violation of the PADFOOTPRONGS Treaty." James ignored him and only pulled Dani closer. A sound behind them revealed Peter. He looked from Sirius' scowling face to the tightly wound couple in the middle of the room and smirked.

"Good to see you too Dani. Though of course I can only see half of your face, because James is trying to eat the other half." Dani pulled away from James and giggled.

"Hi Peter. Hi Sirius. Where's-" Another burst of flames and Remus stepped from the fireplace, brushing his clothes. "Nevermind."

"Where's Lily?" Sirius asked. Dani's cheerful expression changed to a grim one.

"How's she doing?" Remus asked in a quiet voice. Dani crossed her arms and shrugged.

"She hasn't said a single word to me or my parents all morning. She won't eat either. She got dressed and has been sitting in the living room all day staring at the wall. I even brought Mike 'round her to try and get a rise; some kind of emotion out of her, but she didn't even flinch. I'm really worried." Remus shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"She's grieving. You have to give her space and time. When she's ready, she'll come to you. You can't force her. Lily doesn't like being forced to do anything." Dani rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Well, we might as well go tell her you're here so we can get going." She grabbed James' hand and led the four boys out and into the hallway. They walked to the living room, where just as Dani had said, Lily was seated staring at the wall across from her. She was dressed in all black from her jacket to her trainers. Even the scrunches keeping her hair in the two separate pigtails were black. She wore no expression on her face and didn't even appear to notice as five people entered the room. Dani stepped forward and laid a hand on her best mate's shoulder.

"Lily?" She asked. "Lily?" Lily briefly glanced at Dani before returning her gaze to the wall. "Lily, the guys are here. We can go now if you like." Dani said while motioning towards the four teens still in the doorway. Lily looked at them and they waved.

"Good Morning Lily." James and Remus said politely.

"Morning Evans." Sirius said. Peter smiled. Lily just blinked at them.

"Lily?" Lily looked at Dani at the call of her name. "Are you ready to go?" Lily looked at the floor for a few seconds before nodding slowly and proceeding to rise to her feet and walk over to the boys, Dani in tow.

"So how are we getting there?" Sirius asked as he and the others stepped aside to let them by.

"Portkey." Dani said as she led the others into the kitchen identical to the one next door. Sitting on the countertop was an old brown witch hat, that was tattered and had holes all along the brim. Sirius whistled low.

"Looks like something McGonagall would wear." He said earning an elbow to the ribs from Remus.

"Now is not the time, Black." He whispered harshly. Sirius rubbed his ribcage.

"It was just a joke. Sorry for trying to lighten the mood. Besides, even old Minerva has more style than the previous owner of this thing." Sirius said earning a smile out of Lily. It was just the corners of her lips turning upward, but it was still a smile.

"Alright guys, it's set to go as soon as someone touches it, so we have to time it right." Dani said as the six of them took stances around it. "When I say three, reach for it. Not before three Sirius, and not after three Peter. On three. Alright?" The five faces staring at her nodded in understanding, two of which were glaring at the speaking girl. "Okay. One." Six hands shot out.

"Two." The hands moved till they were all just hovering above the hat.

"Three!"

* * *

"Okay. Who's not dead? Sound off." James said as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"Remus."

"Peter."

"Lily."

"My leg! My poor leg! It's broken! James, you fat twat you fell on it and broke it! Now someone has to carry me! Don't all volunteer at once." Remus rolled his eyes and put a hand out to Sirius.

"Come on, mate. Walk it off. You'll be fine." Sirius rolled his eyes and reluctantly took Remus' hand and was pulled up off the ground. As he brushed himself off, he looked around.

"Where's Dani?"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist." A voice from behind him said. "I was just hiding the portkey till we're ready to go." Dani walked over to stand beside Lily, who was staring at the ground. She wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We should start walking. The house should be just down the street from here if I remember correctly. Right, Lily?" She asked hoping for some sort of response. She received none. She sighed and began to walk, slightly pulling Lily along the way.

The six walked in companionable silence for a while and Peter had been just about to ask how much further, when something on the ground caught their eyes. It was small and glittering and when Dani picked it up, they realized it was a small silver key that looked like it was made from diamonds. Lily gasped and tenderly took it from Dani's hand.

"This was my mother's." She said quietly as if speaking to loud would cause it to break. "My father gave it to her on their fifth wedding anniversary. She used to say that she would willingly give up all of her other jewellery as long as she got to keep this. It was her favorite necklace." She looked around on the ground, but couldn't spot the chain that it was on. Remus, being the skilled wizard he was, picked up a twig lying on the ground and quickly transfigured it into silver chain and handed it to Lily who placed the key on it and clasped it behind her neck. "Thank you." Remus nodded.

"No problem. Shall we continue?" The six started walking again, Lily's right hand making a fist around the charm. As they kept walking, more debris was seen. When they were four houses away, both Lily and Dani gasped. From where they were standing, they could easily see the house-well what was left of it. Debris scattered the surrounding yards and the house itself was nothing but destroyed wood. The frame structure had completely dissolved and the only clue that this mass of rubble had once been a house was the fact that the lone thing standing upright was the front door. All six teenagers gasped and Dani had to hold Lily upright to keep her from falling over. When they were standing in the middle of the rubble, the six teens looked around.

"So," Sirius started, breaking the dead silence. "I think we should start seeing if there's anything saveable." The others looked at each other and nodded before going in separate directions. The teens began to search aimlessly through the wood, for something, anything. Remus, James, Sirius, Peter, and Dani did the best they could to find items, while Lily stayed frozen in the middle, in too much shock to move. When they had been searching for an hour, Remus sighed and headed towards Lily.

"I'm sorry, Lily." Remus said. "We tried. But there's just nothing here. Everything…it's gone." Lily wrapped her arms around herself, nodded and smiled weakly.

"I know you tried and I'm extremely grateful. Thank you." She responded in a quiet voice as a small tear rolled down her check. Remus hugged her to his chest, and ran his hand up and down her back lightly. The others had begun to head towards the two, when Peter spoke up.

"Um, Lily? I think I might have found something." Lily pulled away from Remus, and wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"What?"

"Come look." He said. Lily looked at Remus before hurrying in Peter's direction, the others following close behind. Peter was kneeling on the ground, wood and debris surrounding him. In his hands were pages filled with pictures. Lily gasped and kneeled beside him.

"They're pages…from one of the family albums. There's my third birthday," She said pointed to a picture of a red head toddler whose face was covered in cake, "And that was when I broke my arm," The picture showed an eight-year-old Lily standing outside a hospital with a newly wrapped cast, waving at the camera, "And this one," She said pointing to another one "was taken before I got on the platform in 1st Year. Right before I ran into Dani."

Everyone leaned closer to look at it. A grinning Lily stood in the middle of the picture, her two proud parents standing behind her, grins just as wide. Lily was standing on her trunk, making her the same height as her parents. It was the picture of a perfect family. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"It's my favorite picture." Lily turned to look at Peter and hugged him.

"Thank you for finding them. Thank you. You don't know what these pages mean to me." Peter nodded and handed them to her.

"Glad I could help." Just then a car pulled up alongside the road and parked a few feet away from the six teenagers. Out of the car appeared a very portly, short man, who waddled to the passenger side of the car opened it. Out got a young woman with dark hair and a face that mildly resembled a horse. Sirius whistled.

"Wow. Aren't centaurs supposed to have human faces and horse legs?" Dani elbowed him sharply in the ribs. "What?"

"That's not a horse, you ass." She whispered.

"It's not?"

"No, that's Petunia. Lily's older sister." Sirius looked back at Petunia before looking at Lily who was still staring at the pictures in her hands and had yet to look up. "Evans is related to that?"

"It's not hard to see where the good genes went." James added earning him a jab in the ribs from Remus.

"Stop it." He warned. "That's Lily's kin."

"Is kin supposed to want to kill you because she doesn't look all that happy to see her." Peter said. Everyone but Lily turned to look at Petunia, who indeed looked ready to slaughter her sister. She was walking towards the six on the grass, with the short portly man not far behind. James quickly walked towards them and stopped in front of them.

"Hi, I'm James Potter and I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting." Petunia stopped in her tracks and gave James the once over. James grinned.

"Like what you see?" He asked. Petunia blushed and giggled trying to look anywhere but at James. Just then the man who was behind her stepped forward.

"Ah hem." James looked down and arched an eyebrow.

"Can I help you?" He asked. The short man nodded.

"My name is Vernon Dursley, and you can help by moving out of mine and my fiancé's way. Who the hell are you?"

"Well, I'm James Potter, and I attend Hogwarts with Lily and our friends-" At the mention of her sister's name, Petunia snapped out of whatever hold James had on her and her expression turned from dazed to furious once more.

"Lily! You little slut! This is all your fault!" Petunia shouted as she and Vernon ran around James and towards the five still in the debris. Lily made no motion that she had heard her sister, but her hands were gripping the pages tighter than before. Dani sank to her knees and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Don't listen to her. She doesn't know what she's talking about." Dani whispered in her ear. Lily nodded, her eyes still in the same place.

"Lily! Lily! I know you can hear me with those big ears of yours!" Sirius walked towards the oncoming Petunia.

"What's your problem?" Petunia glared at him.

"I just lost my parents in case you don't know!"

"Lily's your sister! She lost them too!" Petunia rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, this is all her fault! If she wasn't going to that damned school for freaks none of this would have happened!" Sirius' eyes widened.

"What?"

"That's right. Life was normal before she started attending that freak school. The lot of you are all probably freaks as well. Disgusting, despicable freaks!" She said while clutching her purse tighter to her person. Vernon beside her nodded vigorously. Peter, who had recently walked up, pointed his finger at her.

"You have no right to say those things!" Petunia scoffed and pushed his finger away.

"Don't you tell me what I can and can't do! She is a freak and that is what I will call her!" Peter was about to respond, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Peter, go back to Lily. You too Sirius." Dani ordered. Sirius frowned and furrowed his eyebrows at the command.

"But-"

"I would like a few words with Petunia and the short one." Vernon scoffed

"My name is Vernon Dursely and I will have you know-"

"Yeah, short one? I didn't ask so I don't care. Sirius, Peter, please go to Lily." The two boys shared a looking before doing as they were asked. When they were beside her, Dani took a deep breath and sighed.

"Now first and foremost, no one calls my best friend a slut. Especially you. You just lost your parents true, but you at least saw them recently before they died. Lily hasn't seen them in over a month. She's hurting just as much if not more than you and you're acting as if she's skipping around and throwing rock at their bodies! Do you not see that she's completely shut off? That's she on the verge of breaking down?"

"If she hadn't been accepted at the retched school-"

"She'd be preparing to marry a fat tart like you are?" Dani directed her gaze at Vernon, so there'd be no mistake who she was referring to.

"She'd be normal. She'd be here with the rest of her family. This", She said gesturing to the surround area. "Wouldn't have happened." Petunia looked around Dani. "I hate you. Do you know that? I absolutely hate you and I hope all of you and your little friends rot in hell for the rest of eter-" Petunia was cut off by Dani punching her in the face. The hit knocked her back two feet and she lied on the ground cradling her now bleeding nose. Vernon rushed to her side.

"We'll sue you for this! You can't just go around punching good people!" Dani stood with her fists clenched at her sides and she was shaking with fury. Her jeans, which were originally a bright blue, were a blood red as well as her shirt. The red in her hair had begun to rise and had reached all the way up to her first rib. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply in and out of her nose. Sirius rushed to her side.

"Ignore them." He whispered. "They mean nothing." Dani nodded.

"I know. I'm fine, I swear. Just, give me a sec." She responded. Sirius placed a soothing hand on her back and rubbed in small circles while Dani's shoulders relaxed. When her outfit colors returned to normal, she opened her eyes and looked at Sirius. "See? Perfectly fine." Dani turned her gaze to Petunia and Vernon who were now looking at her in shock.

"You, you, you," Vernon stuttered. "You just changed colors. You were red just a second ago." Dani arched an eyebrow and looked at Petunia.

"Looks like you pegged yourself a smart one." Dani said sarcastically before walking closer and leaning down so she was eye level with Petunia.

"Now, you selfish, ungrateful, bitch. How dare you talk to your sister like that! I don't think you're aware how lucky you are. Lily loves you! She loves you for reasons unable to be understood! And yet you…you can't even show her a little respect! She has every right to hate you forever! You have no idea what you have! What I would kill to have again!" By now, Dani was blinking back tears and everyone was watching in complete silence, including Lily. She, Remus, Peter and James had all moved closer to hear the conversation. "You don't deserve Lily. And she sure as hell deserves better than you." With that being said, Dani stood, straightened her shirt and began to walk in the direction they had come, wiping her face with the back of her hands. James ran after her. Sirius looked at Peter and Remus.

"I think it's time we go." The other two Marauders nodded in agreement. Remus offered his hand to Lily and she accepted, using her other hand to clutch the photos to her chest. As Sirius walked by the two still lying on the ground, he waved.

"Very nice to meet the two of you. IF you're ever in the wizarding world, look me up." As he and Peter walked by, Peter furrowed his eyebrows.

"But they're muggles. They'll never be in the wizarding world." He whispered to Sirius who nodded in return.

"That's kind of the point, Wormtail." Remus pulled on Lily's hand to get her to hurry up, and when they passed by Petunia and Vernon, she stopped. She caught her sister's eyes and looked into her still bleeding face.

"Petunia." She said in a quiet voice. "I love you. Even if you say you don't love me, I want you to know that whatever happens, I will always love you." She began to walk again but when she was a few feet away from Petunia, she made Remus stop once more. She turned to look at Petunia, with tears falling down her face.

"Goodbye Petunia."

* * *

"Aah!" Lily screamed as she jolted from her sleep. She panted as she recalled the very vivid nightmare she had just had. She had dreamed that she was there when the death eaters attacked and that she had stood by and done nothing as her parents fell down, lifeless and dead. Petunia had been screaming about how it was her fault, and that she was a failure as a witch and would never amount to anything. Lily closed her eyes and ran her hands through her hair. Just then a door opened and in burst Dani.

"Lily! I heard you scream and I thought that maybe-" Dani didn't finish the sentence as she walked over to Lily's bed and sat down. "Well, it doesn't really matter what I thought because you're fine. Was it a nightmare?" Lily nodded as her heart rate continued to go down.

"Yeah." She answered quietly. "It was. But I'm fine, I'm-" Lily stopped midsentence as she glanced at the bedside table. Before she had gone to bed, she had placed the pages of the album on it and now they were no longer there. "Maybe they fell." Lily said as she jumped out of her bed and looked under it. Dani looked at her friend who was now on her hands and knees.

"What are you looking for?" She asked.

"My pages!" Lily exclaimed looking around frantically.

"What pages? The album pages?"

"Yes! They were on the table and now they're gone!" Dani rolled her eyes.

"Calm down and get back in bed. I know where they are." Lily's head shot up.

"You do?"

"Yes. They're in my room." Lily sat back in her bed and crossed her arms.

"Why?" Dani grinned.

"Wait right here." With that she ran back to her room leaving Lily still as confused as ever. She returned seconds later with a thick brown book. She placed it in Lily's lap. Lily read the cover.

"My Family." She said out loud.

"We did it. The boys and I. We thought that if the pictures were back in an album they'd be less likely to get ruined and less likely to get lost." Lily sat in silence as she ran her hand over the cover before opening it. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it. But there are more pages here than the ones we found. Almost all the original pages are here. " Dani shrugged.

"We went back with James' dad after you feel asleep. He used magic and summoned the ones still there. And also some of your neighbors had been snooping around since the accident happened. And a few of them had previously found some of the pages and had them for safekeeping. When we said we knew you, they gladly gave them to us. After that, all we had to do was bind it. It actually wasn't that hard." Lily nodded as she flipped through her memories. Dani smiled. "Go to the last page. It's my favorite."

Lily looked at her friend before doing as she suggested and flipping to the back of the book. Dead center on the last page was a picture that had been taken in the common room before the Winter break party. Lily began to cry as she smiled down at the moving image. She and Dani were standing back to back in Charlie's Angels stances, complete with fake guns blazing, and winking at the camera. Behind them stood the four boys: Remus had crossed his eyes and was stretching out his face with his pointer fingers, James was striking a superman pose, and Sirius was giving Peter a wedgie. The six teens in the image would break their positions, all point and laugh at Peter, then wave to the camera before the motions would repeat. Under the picture was the caption, My New Family. Lily closed the book and looked at Dani.

"Thank you." She said her voice breaking. "Thank you so much." She leaned forward and hugged Dani tightly and Dani did the same. Dani grinned.

"You're welcome. And Lily?"

"Hum?"

"Welcome to the family."


	18. Questioning Dani and HerSecret Comes Out

**Who's got 2 thumbs and is updating? THIS GIRL!**

"Hey Dani?"

"Yeah?"

"What was that about the other day?"

"What was what about the other day?"

"You know. When we were at my…house."

"What about it?"

"When you were yelling at Petunia, you mentioned about how she has no idea what she has, what you would kill to have again."

"I said that?"

"Yeah. What was it about?"

Lily and Dani were sitting in the middle of Dani's bedroom floor, flipping through magazines. It had been four days since going to Lily's house and since then Lily had begun talking again, interacting with Dani and her parents, and even set aside her differences with Petunia for a short time to have their parents cremated. The girls and the Marauders had decided to forego going back to Hogwarts, and were spending the Christmas holidays at home. Dani flipped through the magazine before shrugging her shoulders and answering.

"I don't know. I guess I just got a little over excited and worked up. Didn't mean it." Lily nodded and looked towards the wall at the four doors.

"What's in your storage?" Dani looked up from her _Witch Weekly _at her best friend.

"What?"

"Your storage." Lily repeated pointing towards one of the doors behind Mike's cage. "What's in it?"

"Different things. Suitcases, old clothes, but mostly I keep things for Mike in there. Bedding, his cage cleaner and his food." Lily furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well if that's all that's in it, then why is it locked?" Dani crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow.

"How do you know it's locked?"

"I was in here earlier and I couldn't remember which door led to the bathroom. It wouldn't open." Dani stood up and wiped her hands on her pants.

"I keep it locked because my mother, like you, is squeamish. If she sees a live mouse, she'd probably have a conniption. This way they don't get out, and when I'm at school, my dad feeds him. You sure are asking a lot of questions. Why?" Lily shrugged with one shoulder.

"I don't know. Just thinking." Dani stared at Lily on the floor for a second before offering her a hand to pull her up.

"You know what you need?" Dani asked. Lily shook her head, no. "A day out in London. And a boyfriend." Lily laughed at her best friend's remark.

"While I'm not so sure about the second one, but I could definitely use a day in London." She said as she moved to put the magazines back on the shelf.

"Are we calling the guys, or do you want this to be a girl's day out kind of thing?" Dani asked. Lily shrugged as she straightened the items on the shelf.

"As much as I like to say that I dislike them, they do have a tendency to make everything entertaining. Call 'em if you want." Dani nodded and walked over to her fireplace. From the mantle, she pulled a small bag and opened it. Pulling out some of the dust, she tossed it into the blaze. Dani then proceeded to kneel on the floor, take a deep breath, and stick her head in.

* * *

"James!" At the sound of his name being called, James jerked out of bed, and fell on the floor.

"Wha?" He muttered as he frantically tried to untangle himself from his blankets. When he could finally remove himself from his sheets, he looked around his room, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Put on your glasses stupid." James narrowed his eyes.

"Dani?"

"No. The Easter Bunny. Would you like your eggs now or later?" James rolled his eyes before standing and picking his glasses off of his bedside table. He scanned his room till his eyes fell on the fireplace, and Dani's smirking face. James playfully rolled his eyes before walking over and kneeling in front of his fireplace.

"Good morning Dani. Not that I don't love seeing you, but why are you trying to give me a concussion this early?" Dani arched an eyebrow and James could visualize her crossing her arms.

"Early? Potter it's after three. Are you gonna sleep all vacation?" James arched his own eyebrow.

"Isn't that what vacation's for?" He retorted. Dani smiled but didn't answer.

"Thank you for proving my point! Now what do you want?" Dani put on a face of mock hurt.

"And makes you think I want something? I can't just call my boyfriend to talk to him? I have to be up to something? James-ow! I'm hurrying up Lily! You don't have to kick me!" James furrowed his eyebrows.

"What's-"

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, Lily and I are going into London and we were wondering if you and the guys wanted to come." Just as James opened his mouth to answer his room was opened and Remus walked in.

"We'll be ready in 15. We'll meet you guys in Diagon Alley, by The Leaky Caldron." Remus answered. James looked towards his door to see Peter and Sirius nodding their heads. He turned back to face Dani.

"See you in 15." Dani nodded and within a few seconds, her face was gone. James stood and turned towards his mates. Sirius walked in and plopped himself down on James' bed, before answering his unasked question.

"We came when we heard you fall and decided to stay for the rest of the conversation." James nodded and sighed.

"Alright. Well will you all leave so I can change?" Sirius groaned.

"But Prongs," He started as he stretched out on his back. "I'm so comfortable right here. Besides we've been sharing a dorm and a locker room since we were 11. It's not like you've got anything we haven't seen before." James threw a shirt at him.

"Yes and you've taken every possible opportunity since we were 11 to make those moments as awkward as possible. I'm still scarred from two years ago when you thought it would be "so cool" to sneak that first year and her friends into the locker room." Sirius shrugged.

"How was I supposed to know you had just gotten out of the shower and weren't wearing a towel?" Remus rolled his eyes before walking over to Sirius and pulling him off of James' bed.

"Come on, Padfoot. Leave him alone to dress in peace." Peter said as Remus dragged the black-haired boy towards the door. "We'll be downstairs. Be ready in 10." James nodded and the door closed behind his three friends, leaving him alone.

* * *

James shook the soot from his hair and began walking towards the front of Madam Malkin's robe shop when muffled stomping and muttered curses stopped him in his tracks. He knew it was the one and only Madam Malkin coming to chew out whomever it was flooing into her place of establishment. The shop's owner was notoriously known for her dislike of wizards using her fireplace to enter Diagon Alley, but she, like most, had a sweet spot for James and the rest of the Marauders. As soon as she saw it was him, her face softened and her snarl turned into a smile.

"Why if it isn't Mr. James Potter. And I see you've gotten taller still." James smirked and bowed.

"The one and only. Madam Malkin. Your husband is a very lucky man." The witch smirked.

"Oh really? And why is that?"

"Because you, are like a fine wine. You only get better with age. In fact if it weren't a felony, I'd take you for myself." James said as she stepped forward and kissed her hand. The entrepreneur blushed and giggled girly, which dusting soot from James' clothes and straightening them as well.

"Hmm. Won't be a felony for much longer." She muttered to herself, but loud enough for the teen to hear. James smirked and straightened his robes, before looking to the older woman for approval. Madam Malkin opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by her name being called from the front of the store. She rolled her eyes in clear frustration and James had to hold in his chuckle.

"Well, I don't think I have to show you the way out." Madam Malkin regrettably said, stepping aside to let James by. When they were both in the front of the store, James turned to her.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you." He turned to leave, but was pulled back.

"Be sure to come see me again before you return to Hogwarts. You've probably already outgrown your school robes and I'd be happy to get you fitted with new ones." Madam Malkin spoke, smiling the whole time. James glanced behind her to see a heavyset woman, tapping her foot and glaring. James smiled.

"Yes, Madam Malkin. I will." The woman let go of his clothes, and James waved as he exited her store. When he stepped outside, he shivered at the sudden chill and looked around. The street was full of witches and wizards doing last minute Christmas shopping and hurrying to get out of the cold. He squinted through his still soot covered glasses, trying to find a familiar face, when there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Dani and Lily, both grinning.

"Are you aware of the time?" Dani asked. James squinted at her and slowly shook his head.

"It is now…three forty-six. I spoke with you at three thirty and you guys said you would meet us in fifteen minutes which was at three forty five. It is three forty-six, which means you lied and you now owe me lunch." James rolled his eyes.

"Good to see you too, Dani." He replied sarcastically. Dani arched an eyebrow and Lily chuckled.

"It's amazing you can see anything through all that soot." She said, reaching up and removing the frames from his place and proceeding to clean them on his shirt. James made a face.

"Why don't you clean them with your shirt?"

"One because my shirt is white, and two, aren't they _your _glasses?" Dani retorted to his snarky remark. When they were finally clean, Dani placed them back on his face. When he could once again see, and clearly this time, James' eyes lifted from his girlfriend's face to look at her red-headed companion.

"Afternoon, Lily." Lily's grin melted into a smile.

"Hey. Where's the rest of the Marauders?" James shrugged, pulling his jacket tighter around him.

"Probably in the Leaky Caldron." Dani looped one of her arms with his, and the other with Lily's.

"Well, then let's go!"

* * *

"Okay, now just lie down and try not to move. Does it really hurt? Well that was a dumb question, of course it hurts, you got punched repeatedly." Dani said as she led Sirius who was holding a bag of ice to his face. While in Diagon Alley the group ran into a few 7th Year Slytherins and they would've fought had it not been for all the spectators surrounding them. A while later, they once again met up with the Slytherins and harsh words had been exchanged, most of them coming from Sirius, who they threatened would be sorry. And a couple of minutes later, while on his way into a Qudditch supplies store, he was. The five upperclassmen jumped the 6th Year, pulling him into an alley and proceeding to kick and punch him. Sirius did pretty well for himself considering his odds, and while he was injured, he was able to hold his own against his attackers until the others could find him.

Dani lead Sirius over to her bed and had him lay down on it, the ice completely covering his battered and bruised face. The rest of the Marauders and Lily had scattered themselves all around her room. James went and stood beside Sirius.

"How you holding up there, mate?" He asked. Sirius muttered something unable to be heart because of the ice. James squinted and leaned closer. "What?" Sirius moved the ice from his face.

"I said," he started in a very monotone voice. "I can't feel my face. It's gone numb." Remus chuckled and went over to stand beside the two.

"Well on the bright side, most of the swelling has gone down." Sirius looked at him.

"Really?" The blonde nodded and Lily and Peter went over to him as well.

"Yeah, but now you can see the cuts." Peter stated pointing to the now visible splits on Sirius' arms and face. Lily gently ran her fingers over one of the cuts by his eyebrow, causing the boy to flinch.

"How did they cut you?" Sirius shrugged.

"I don't really remember it happening, the bitches. Come January, they are gonna pay…" Dani rolled her eyes at Sirius' attempt at a malicious voice.

"Whatever, Black. I'm gonna go get the first aid kit. Lily, will you come help me? I don't know where you put it after you used it…" Dani said while leaving and heading down the stairs, Lily just a few steps behind her. Sirius glared at her retreating form while sitting up and getting out of the bed. He then walked over to the Dani's adjoining bathroom and pulled on the door. Nothing happened.

"What the…" Sirius said puzzled. He tried again, but still it didn't open. "What's the matter with the bathroom? Why won't it open?" Remus shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because you're using the wrong one? The bathroom is the one to the right of it." Remus answered. Sirius looked back at the door.

"Then what is this one for?"

"That one is her storage. Why?" Peter replied. Sirius pulled on the door again trying to open it.

"Have any of you guys ever been in it?" James smirked.

"No, because it's _her_ storage? Why would we go in there?"

"Well I wanna see what's in it." Sirius said as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the door.

"Sirius, we aren't supposed to do magic-" Remus started.

"Alohomora!"

"Outside of school." Remus said in vain. Sirius once again reached for the door knob and pulled. The door still didn't budge. Sirius glared at the wood. "Alright then. If that's how you want it." He closed the bedroom door and silenced the room before once again taking his stance in front of the inoperable door.

"Sirius, you can't blow up Dani's door! And you're still doing magic." Peter said in hopes he would stop. It didn't work.

"She'll live. Besides, her dad can fix it and considering just how many times since first year I've used magic outside of Hogwarts, I should be in Azkaban by now. One more spell is not gonna kill me." James crossed his arms.

"Yeah, but my girlfriend will. And I won't stop her." Sirius shrugged and aimed his wand at the door. His friends tried once more to convince him.

"Black-"

"Sirius-"

"Padfoot-"

"Reducto!" The door blew apart and the boys shielded their eyes. When the dust cleared, they were greeted not by the porcelain white and obnoxiously clean bathroom, but with another bedroom, around the same size as the one they were currently standing in. They stepped through the blown apart door and looked around. The walls were painted blue and black, as was the carpet. Clothes had been carelessly thrown everywhere, the bed was unmade and next to it stood a table wide enough to hold Mike's cage. The four boys would have assumed someone had just been there had it not been for the layer of dust covering everything. The four boys looked at each other, before resuming the scan of the room.

"Have any of you guys ever been in here before?" Remus muttered. The room's other occupants shook their heads.

"She always said this was her storage." James said.

"Well what was she storing? A person?" Sirius asked wiping a layer of dust off of the mantle.

"James?" Peter said. The boy in question turned at the sound of his name.

"What?"

"Who's Daniel?"

"Danielle is Dani's full name. duh."

"No. Not Danielle, _Daniel._" James furrowed his eyebrows.

"I don't know a Daniel."

"Well then why are you in a picture with him and Dani?" When Peter spoke this, all three boys rushed over to see the picture and saw Peter had been telling the truth. In the frame he was holding, was a picture of a younger James standing in between a younger Dani and another boy who looked just like her. Painted on the white frame were the names _Danielle, James, Daniel_ repeating all the way around. This was not the only picture either. The dresser was covered in pictures of the three of them. There were even some of just James and the boy. The three were on a playground in one, at a party in another, and wearing Halloween costumes in about three, the caption under one being _Best Friends Forever. _

"James, who is he?" Sirius asked. James shrugged as he stared at the pictures in shock.

"I-I don't know. I can't remember any of these being taken at all." All four boys took that moment to look up. The wall behind the dresser was covered in even more pictures of Dani and the dark-skinned boy. Some with them and Dani's parents, some with just him, and tons of him and Dani. Him and Dani at the store, him and Dani reading, him and Dani sleeping and the list went on and on. There was even a baby picture of the two. Sirius was about to speak, when footsteps were heard.

"James? Sirius?"

"Peter? Remus?"

"Where the hell are you-" Dani stopped midsentence as she and Lily entered her bedroom and slowly walked over to where the door once stood. They entered and Lily, like the boys, looked around in shock, while Dani looked around in fear.

"What, how, why?" Dani spoke in barely above a whisper. James glared at the girl and walked over holding one of the pictures of the three of them in his hand.

"Danielle Michelle Carlson," He whispered in a voice that sent chills up and down the girl's spine. Dani winced at the use of her full name. "Who is this and why the hell can't I remember him?" Dani squeezed her eyes tight and shook her head. James grabbed her arms. "Answer me, Dani. Why am I in at least 30 pictures with some guy I don't know?" Dani continued to shake her head and not answer. "Look at me. Look at me." He said shaking her till her eyes opened. Her eyes were filled with tears. His face softened and his grip on her arms loosened, but his words were still just as firm.

"Dani, who is he?" Dani remained silent. "Dani, who is this boy?" Dani looked down and muttered her answer. "What?" Another mumbled response. "Dani, speak up! Who is-"

"He's my twin!" Dani yelled tears falling down her face. James released her and slowly back up till his back was against the bedpost. Without James holding her up, Dani fell in an ungraceful heap on the ground. Five voices asked the same question.

"What?" Dani sighed and hugged her legs before looking up at the five shocked and confused faces staring at her name.

"His name was Daniel Michael Carlson, he was my twin, and he was murdered when we were ten. James, he was our best friend."

**OH SNAP! LIKE IT? LOVE IT? HATE IT? REVIEW IT! :D**


	19. The Gang Meets Daniel

**I promised to have this up by the end of the day! And I did! Yeah! :D**

Everyone was staring at Dani on the floor in shock. James shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"No." He said. "No, that's not possible. You don't have a twin." Dani, who was still crying, glared at him and stood.

"I know I don't. I used to. What part of _"murdered when we were ten" _did you not understand?"

"No." James repeated. "This can't be, I-"

"Can't be?" Dani said hysterically. "Can't be? Then please wise one, explain all of this to me. The pictures, the videos," she said pointing to a crate beside the bed, "the birth certificate," she said showing him an old and wrinkled certificate. "If this can't be, then please tell me how we are currently standing in this room with all of this stuff."

"Then why the hell isn't he here with us now?" James roared. Dani stared at him in shock.

"Are you really that daft? Do you not know the definition of the word "Murdered?" James was about to respond, when Remus stepped in.

"Both of you calm down!" He said staring at both of them in turn. "Now, you two yelling at us isn't gonna get us anywhere so here's what's gonna happen. Lily, you are going to take Dani into your room and calm her down. The four of us are gonna go back to James' house and calm him down. In twenty minutes, the six of us are gonna come back here and Dani's going to explain everything then. Agreed?" Five heads nodded.

"Agreed."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the group was once again in the blue and black room, the six Gryffindors in a circle on the floor. In the center of the circle, was a stack of pictures that Sirius had taken from on the dresser. Both Dani and James had calmed down but both teens were refusing to make eye contact and Remus, who sat in the middle of them, was being used as the go between. "So," Remus said turning to Dani. "Start from the beginning. Who is the guy in this picture?" He asked while handing her one of the frames that had the only the unknown boy in it. Dani sighed.

"Like I said before," She started. "His name is…was Daniel Michael Carlson and he was my twin. He was older by three minutes. Him, James and I were best friends up till his murder." Remus nodded.

"And how did he die?" He asked. Dani sighed as she set down the photo she was holding and picked up another one. It was a muggle picture and in it she, James and Daniel were in the Carlson's backyard in a giant inflatable pool, laughing and splashing water at each other.

"Well…"

_"**There. I think that's the best one of the day." Tyler Potter said as he admired the picture he had just taken. It was a candid shot of the three kids doing what they did best. Goof off and try to drown each other in the pool. Katherine glanced at the picture over her husband's shoulder and smiled as she looked at her son enjoying himself. **_

_"**Looks like a keeper to me." Tyler grinned and kissed her on the cheek before turning off his new muggle camera. Just then a voice was heard from inside. **_

_"**Alright you three! Time to eat. Get out of the pool." Miranda Carlson yelled at the three kids in the backyard. She rolled her eyes as she heard them groan. "You can go back after you're done." The voices cheered and she could hear splashing around as they each tried to be the first one out and drown the others at the same time. Within seconds, Danielle, then James, and last Daniel came storming through the back door and into her kitchen. The three rushed to the breakfast bar and took their seats, where three plates of burgers and fries were waiting for them. Tyler and Katherine followed behind them, handing each kid a towel. **_

_"**And I am the winner!" Dani yelled as she punched her fists in the air. "And you are the loser!" She said while pointing across James at her brother. He grumbled and pouted, crossing his arms. **_

_"**That's only because James tried to trip me." James laughed and shook his wet hair. **_

_"**There's nothing in the racing rules that says you can't trip people." **_

_"**Well then, on the way back I'm pushing you down and spitting in your face." Daniel said as he stuck his tongue out at the boy beside him. **_

_"**Hey!" The boys turned around to see Waken reading a newspaper at the table. "Daniel, behave." His son rolled his eyes and made a face at him. **_

_"**Dad! It's Dan. Not Daniel. D-A-N. Duh." **_

_"**Yeah, dad. You should be able to remember that." His twin chimed in, her mouth stuffed with fries. Miranda made a face of disgust at her daughter. **_

_"**Danielle! Don't talk with your mouth full. Use your manners." The girl in question rolled her eyes and gave her mother a face identical to the one her twin had just given their father. **_

_"**Mom! It's Dani. Not Danielle. D-A-N-I. Duh." James looked back and forth between his best friends before looking at his parents. **_

_"**Well if they get to change their names, then I wanna go by Michael." Dan shook his head. **_

_"**You can't go by Michael because both of our middle names are Michael. We wouldn't know which one of us they were talking to." James arched an eyebrow. **_

_"**Yes we would. You go by Dan. We'd known exactly which one of us they were talking to." Dan was silent for a few seconds before shaking his head again. **_

_"**No. It-it wouldn't work." The parents rolled their eyes at the age old argument the boys would have about the fact that they shared a common middle name. As they argued, Dani ate faster and soon she was done. She hopped down from the breakfast bar and placed her plate in the sink. **_

_"**Mom, I'm done. Can I start getting ready?" Miranda nodded at her daughter's question. **_

_"**Yes. Your clothes and the present are sitting on your bed waiting for you." Dani nodded and headed towards the stairs to change. **_

_"**Where is she going?" Dan asked his mother. **_

_"**Sally Summers' 11****th**** birthday party." Dani called triumphantly from the stairs. James furrowed his eyebrows. **_

_"**How come we can't come?" **_

_"**Because you don't know her. You've never met her." Dani said staring at the two still seated boys. The two looked at her, before looking at each other, before once again looking at each other. **_

_"**So?" They asked at the same time. Dani rolled her eyes and continued up the stairs. **_

_"**I'll see you guys when I get back. And try not to kill each other before then." **_

**

* * *

**

'_**I'm late. I'm late. I'm late. Stupid James and Dan and their drowning contest that lasted 10 minutes…should've stopped it at five…' Dani thought as she ran towards Sally Summers' house. It was only a few streets away, so she had refused the ride from Katherine and Tyler. Dani continued to run and she could see the house slowly getting closer. When it was only a few streets away, Dani grinned. She was going to make it… **_

"_**Woah!" Dani tripped and fell before rolling a few inches. Dani sat up, and examined herself. Both of her elbows were scratched up, and she had a skinned knee. She could hear laughter and when she looked up, she could see two older boys pointing and laughing at her. **_

_**She had seen the boys hanging around the neighborhood a few times and they were only a few years older than her. They were known for making trouble and Dani and her friends had been warned numerous times by her parents and other adults to stay away from the two. Dani forced herself not to glare at the two of them, and closed her eyes before counting to ten. Both she and her twin had a horrible temper problem and when riled up, enough disastrous things could happen. When she felt she had calmed down enough, she opened her eyes again to see the two staring at her. Dani stood up, dusted herself off, checked her pocket for Sally's present, and once again began walking towards Sally's house. The two older boys quickly fell into step with her. **_

"_**Where ya goin',?" One of them asked. Dani rolled her eyes. **_

"_**None of your beeswax, that's where." The one who hadn't spoken gripped her arm. **_

"_**Didn't your parents teach you manners, little girl?" Dani glared at him. **_

"_**Yes. But apparently yours didn't." The older boys glared down at her before the second one picked her up and ran into an alley with her, the other boy not far behind. When they reached, the second one dropped Dani on the ground. **_

"_**Ow!" Dani exhaled as she landed in an ungraceful heap. 'Don't get mad, don't get mad…' She thought to herself. 'They're probably muggles. And mum says a witch must never reveal herself to a muggle. Never.' Dani stood up and crossed her arms. "Why don't you two leave me alone? Don't you have anything better to do than pick on a 10-year-old? Don't you have any other friends your own age? Aren't you guys like 15?" **_

"_**We're 13." The first one said. "We're not that much older than you." **_

"_**13?" Dani questioned. "You both are awfully short for 13. I'm three years younger than you and you both are only like two inches taller than me." The second one glared at her. **_

"_**If you were a boy, I'd punch you in the face. But you're not, so I won't." He looked at Dani for a second before speaking again. "You know you're kinda pretty. Don't you think Mitch?" He asked his friend who looked at her too. Mitch nodded. **_

"_**Definitely. A few years from now, she might even be really pretty. Like model pretty." As they stared at her, Dani squirmed uncomfortably and stared at her shoes. **_

"_**What's your name?" Dani snapped her head up at the question and saw both of the boys staring at her. "What's your name?" Mitch repeated. **_

"_**I-I'm Danielle." She stuttered. "But I go by Dani. D-A-N-I." She responded in a quiet voice that was unusual to her. **_

"_**Hey Jimmy. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was acting shy." Jimmy, or the first boy, laughed. **_

"_**Me too. Well, "Dani", I wanna ask you a question."**_

"_**What?" **_

"_**You ever been kissed?" Dani's eyes widened at the question. **_

"_**What?" **_

"_**You heard me. You ever been kissed?"**_

"…_**by my parents?" Both Mitch and Jimmy threw their heads back and laughed. **_

"_**No, not by your mum and dad." Mitch said. "Have you ever been kissed by a boy?" Dani's mouth fell open in shock. **_

"_**Of course not! Boys are icky and gross!" Jimmy arched an eyebrow. **_

"_**You won't be thinking that for much longer. And you've really never been kissed? Not even by those two boys you're always with?" Dani shook her head and closed her eyes in disgust. **_

"_**No! Ew! Dan is my twin! And James is like my other brother. That's…that's horrible. You guys are disgusting!" Dani tried to leave the alley, when her arm was gripped and she was pulled back against the brick wall. "Wha-what are you doing?" She asked Mitch, who had a firm hold on both of her arms and was holding her against the wall. He smiled down at her. **_

"_**You said you had never been kissed." **_

"_**Because I haven't!" **_

"_**Wanna change that?" **_

"…_**No…" **_

"_**Oh come on, Dani." Jimmy said. "You're gonna have to kiss a boy sooner or later. Why not make it sooner?"**_

"_**Because I don't-" **_

"_**It's not gonna hurt." Mitch interjected. "All you gotta do is stay still, close your eyes, and just feel. It's really simple." **_

"_**But I-"**_

"_**All I'm gonna do is lean down just…like…this…" With each word Mitch's face got closer to Dani's and she was too scared to move. When his lips were less than an inch away from hers, Dani's eyes shut out of fear. Just when she was sure he was going to kiss her, there was a yell. **_

"_**Oi! Get away from my sister!" There was a gush of wind and Dani felt Mitch get off of her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Dan on top of him, repeatedly punching him in the face. His clothes, shoes as well as his hair were a deep blood red and he was moving at an inhuman speed. It took a few seconds before Jimmy was able to pull him off, Dan kicking and trying to get out of his grip the whole time. After a few seconds, Jimmy gasped and let go of Dan, his hands having become scathing hot. Dani resumed his old position of being on top of Dan. **_

"_**Why'd you let him go?" Mitch asked trying to fight off the boy. **_

"_**I didn't do it on purpose!" Jimmy yelled trying to somehow cool his hands. "He-he burned me…somehow."**_

"_**Dan! Stop!" Dani yelled, tears running down her face. Hearing his sister's voice, Dan stopped and turned to look at her and Dani gasped, seeing his face for the first time. His eyes were red, his teeth were more pointed and his face looked like the skin had been stretched tight on it and his features looked almost bird like and his fingers had transformed into claws. He was snarling and barred his teeth. It was the first time that Dani saw the full extent of what their Tempertantrus powers could do and it frightened her. Laying eyes on his sister, Dan immediately got off of Mitch and rushed towards her. **_

_**As he started towards her, the red began to drain from his hair, clothes, and shoes. When he reached her, he pulled Dani in and hugged her tight. Dani wrapped her arms around him and gripped him just as tight. Dan pulled back and Dani watched the red deplete from his eyes, returning them to their natural brown. His teeth grew less sharp and the stretched out skin on his face returned to normal. Dani could feel the claws on her back return to regular human hands and she smiled. **_

"_**Are you okay?" Dan asked. Dani nodded.**_

"_**Yeah, just a little shaken." **_

"_**Did he…"**_

"_**Kiss me? No you came just in time. Thanks, bro." Dan grinned. **_

"_**Don't mention it. It was-" A shot rang out and Dan gasped and shut his eyes in pain. Dani could feel the back of Dan's shirt becoming wet and she lifted one hand over his shoulder to see it was covered in red liquid. Dan's blood. Dan's feet bucked and he collapsed on the ground, taking his sister with him. Dani looked up to see Mitch holding a gun and Jimmy staring at him in shock. Mitch's face was swollen and bruised, his nose looked broken and his lip was bleeding. Both of his hands were gripping the gun tightly and he was vividly shaking. **_

"_**Mitch," Jimmy stared still staring at his friend in shock. "What did you do?" Mitch shook his head and dropped the weapon. **_

"_**I-I don't know. It was an accident! I was upset and angry and I had the gun and I didn't think I just fired-"**_

"_**Where'd you get the gun from?" **_

"_**I found it this morning in my dad's closet. I-I took it out to show to you and the guys later and then when the brat got off of me I remembered I had it and I-I-I panicked." As Mitch confessed the puddle of blood surrounding Dan was growing bigger and thicker. Jimmy stepped closer to Dan and Dani and sank to his knees. He looked like he was about to throw up. **_

"_**Oh my god." He said weakly. "He's gonna die. Oh my god, he's gonna die and it's our fault. I told you we shouldn't have messed with her, I warned you Mitch. I said you should leave her alone. I told you she was a witch and that she would be coming to Hogwarts in a year. I told you to just wait but you wouldn't listen to me and now her brother's gonna die and we're gonna be expelled and put in Azkaban for life and be given the Dementor's kiss and-" **_

"_**Shut up!" Mitch yelled. "Shut up!" We're not going to Azkaban, because no one saw or heard anything." Jimmy looked at his friend with tears in his eyes. **_

"_**What are you talking about? She saw and heard the whole thing!" Jimmy said pointing to Dani, who was holding Dan's hand and trying to get him to remain conscious. She was barely aware of what the two older boys were saying. Mitch shook his head and walked over to where he had dropped the gun, picking it back up and pointing it at Dani. Dani looked up into the barrel of the gun, still holding her brother's hand, tears streaming down her face. **_

"_**No she didn't. She didn't see anything. She and her brother found the gun in the alley and started fighting over it. He threatened to tell on her, and she accidently fired it, hitting him in the back. She was so distraught, that she shot herself in the face, dying instantly. We just happened to be walking this way and found them." Jimmy went pale. **_

"_**What? Are you serious? You're gonna kill her too?" **_

"_**You keep talking and you'll be next!" Mitch yelled. "Now, that's the story of what happened, and that's the story we're sticking to. Do you understand?" **_

"_**But-" Jimmy said weakly. **_

"_**Do you understand?" Jimmy nodded, too ashamed to speak. **_

"_**Good." Mitch turned back to look at Dani who was still staring into the gun's barrel. "Say goodbye, Dani. It's a shame too. You really are pretty and within a few years I'm sure you would have grown to be quite fit." Mitch cocked the gun, and just as he was about to pull the trigger, a voice was heard outside of the alleyway. **_

"_**Dan? Dan! Where are you? Are you out here?" **_

"_**Shit!" Mitch exclaimed. "It's the other boy. Let's go!" he said quickly stashing the gun in his pocket and grabbing the back of Jimmy's shirt. He yanked the other boy up and began to run the back way out of the alley. Dani watched the two run and once they were out of the alleyway, she looked down at her still bleeding brother. His hand in hers was slowly losing grip and he coughed, blood coming up out of his mouth. **_

"_**Dan? Please don't leave me. I need you. Please." Dan looked at her but his eyes kept moving and he wasn't focusing. **_

"_**Dani," He gasped weakly. "I-"**_

"_**No, don't say anything. You're weak enough. Just stay still and breathe." **_

"_**Dani-"**_

"_**No! You're not gonna die! Please...I need my twin." **_

"_**Dani, I will always be your twin. No matter what happens." Dan coughed again and more blood came out. James' voice was growing closer, but Dani was too preoccupied to respond to his calls. **_

"_**But what are me and James gonna do without you?" Dan shrugged weakly. **_

"_**You have each other. So be there for each other."**_

"_**But-" **_

"_**I'm serious Dani. You'll be fine. I promise. No, I swear. You will be okay. You, James and our parents are gonna be okay. And we'll always be twins. In death or in life." He removed his hand from in Dani's and slowly rolled up his sleeve to reveal a small scar on his left wrist. The scar was in the shape of the letters D.M.C. Dani rolled up her right sleeve to reveal the same one. They pressed their wrists together before looking at each other and speaking. **_

"_**D.M.C. Twins we be. Through fun, through pain, for eternity." **_

"_**I love you Daniel." **_

"_**And I love you too, Danielle. And I always will." The two hugged one last time before Dan gave his sister a weak smile and closed his eyes before lying down on the ground. Dani once more gripped his hand, only this time she felt no warmth from it. Dani shook her head and bit her lower lip and she checked for a pulse in both of his wrists. When she found none, she checked the one in his neck. There was none there either. She laid her head on his chest and listened for a heartbeat. She could hear none. Dani closed her eyes tightly and dug her fingers in her brother's shirt and silently cried. She could hear footsteps at the entrance of the alley but she refused to move from her position. **_

"_**Dan? Dan? Where are you-Dani? Dani? Is that you?" James walked towards her even though she didn't respond. "Dani? What are you doing in an alley? Shouldn't you be at Sally's party? Have you seen your brother? He went looking for you about 20 minutes ago. What are you sitting in a puddle of?" At his last question, he finally reached Dani and looked down at her. Dani opened her eyes to see him, and watched as his face drained of color. **_

"_**Is that…Dan?" Dani nodded. "Is that…blood?" Dani nodded again and tightened her fingers in his shirt. "Is he…" James couldn't finish his sentence but he didn't have to for Dani to know what he was asking. Dani nodded again and let out a loud sob. James collapsed on the ground beside Dani and she released her brother in order to latch onto James instead. James gripped her back just as tight and he dug his face into her hair as he cried. He opened to eyes and looked at his now dead friend. **_

"_**Goodbye Dan." He whispered. "Goodbye." **_

"And that is how he died." Dani said in a still voice. "The police found us a few hours later in the alley just sitting and looking at him. Mitch and Jimmy were never seen again after that day and they weren't at Hogwarts when we entered the next year either. The gun was never found and they weren't reported missing. Daniel was buried a few days later." The room was silent for a while as the others took in the story. Peter was the first on to break the silence.

"So that's why you can see thestrals?" He asked quietly. Dani nodded.

"That's why I can see thestrals. Because I watched my brother die." James shook his head.

"Well, how come my parents haven't ever mentioned him? Or yours? I think they would remember losing a child." Dani sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Because you erased their memory." James' jaw dropped in shock.

"What? Me?" Dani nodded.

"Wanna elaborate on that?" Sirius asked gently. Remus reached over and intertwined his hand with hers.

"You can take your time, Dani." Dani nodded weakly and shut her eyes before taking a deep breath. She reached into the circle and pulled out a picture of her and James dressed in black and looking down at the ground. They were holding each other's hands tightly and the tips of Dani's hair were dyed red. She set the picture in her lap before taking Lily's hand in her free one.

"It started as…"

"_**The red looks good on you." James commented quietly. "It looks nice in your hair. You should keep it like that." The two were currently in Dani's living room sitting on the couch as people walked around just as upset and depressed as they felt. Dani nodded in thanks. Someone had just come by and taken their picture, but neither of them had the strength to look up and smile. Dani glanced up and saw her parents standing in a corner and crying as they held each other while looking at a picture on the wall. Dani glanced back down and bit her lip as a tear escaped from her eye. She was gonna wipe it away, but James' empty hand bet her to it. He kept his hand on her face and she looked up at him to see him smiling sadly at her. **_

"_**Wanna go up to your room?" **_

_**Dani nodded and the two stood up and headed towards the stairs. No one stopped them. When they reached Dani's bedroom and the door was shut behind them, Dani collapsed in a heap on the floor. James gently picked her up and walked her to her bed, passing the door that connected Dani and Dan's bedrooms. In all the years he had known the twins, he had never once seen the door closed and as he placed Dani on her bed, he thought of how he probably never would see it open again. When Dani was settled, James laid down on the bed next to her.**_

"_**It's my fault." Dani whispered. **_

"_**What?" **_

"_**Daniel is dead. And it's my fault. If I had just gotten the ride from your parents-" **_

"_**Hey. Hey! What happened was not your fault. It was the fault of those two dicks Jamie and Mitchie."**_

"_**Their names were Jimmy and Mitch." **_

"_**Doesn't matter. It was their faults not yours. And Daniel wouldn't have wanted you to blame yourself for what happened to him. And if you ever need to talk about it, come to me. Got it?" Dani nodded in understanding as she wiped her eyes. **_

"_**Got it. But I really feel bad for my parents. I hate seeing them like this. They're like…like shells of themselves. As if a part of them is missing. I got up this morning and they were sitting at the kitchen table, just staring at it. And I don't think that this is gonna end soon, if ever. I don't wanna watch this destroy them. I wish there was something I could do." James remained silent as he stroked her hair. **_

"_**There might be." He muttered. Dani sat up and glanced at the boy beside her. **_

"_**What?" **_

"_**Well, I heard my parents talking about a memory erasing spell." **_

"_**Really?" **_

"_**Yeah. Apparently all you have to do is concentrate on what you want the person to forget, point a wand at them, and say 'obliviate'."**_

"_**That's it? It's that simple?" James nodded. **_

"_**It should be as long as you're concentrating hard enough." Dani furrowed her eyebrows and looked down at her comforter. **_

"_**But neither of us have got a wand." She looked back up at James to see him grinning sheepishly. "James…" James reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a long wand. Dani gasped. **_

"_**James! Is that your father's?" The boy nodded. **_

"_**I nicked it last night when he wasn't looking. I've been thinking about doing the same for my parents. Dan was practically their second son."**_

"_**And he's not aware it's gone?" **_

"_**No." James answered. "But to be honest, he's been so wrapped up in Dan's funeral, he hasn't really been aware of anything. I took some Firewhiskey from his stash yesterday and even though he saw a bottle was missing, he didn't say anything." Dani nodded. **_

"_**So are you sure about this? Will it work?" James nodded and shrugged. **_

"_**Even if it doesn't, what do we have to lose?"**_

"But you guys were underage. Underage wizards can't do magic. They've still got the trace on them. The ministry would have found out." Lily stated.

"Not necessarily." Dani said. "Why do you think Sirius always gets away with doing magic? You growing up in a muggle home and being the only one able to do magic, the ministry can pinpoint exactly when you're doing it. But for the rest of us, who grew up in wizarding homes, it's nearly impossible to tell because there's always some kind of magic going on whether it's caused by our parents or someone else. And since we used James' father's wand, and since his dad is of age, we never got busted for it. As far as we know it never even came up on the ministry's rosters." Remus nodded and gripped Dani's hand tighter.

"So what happened after you guys talked in your room?"

"That night, while our parents were asleep, then James erased their memories of my twin. Both of our parents woke up the next morning and couldn't remember a thing. They couldn't remember him, they couldn't remember the funeral, anything. Then we went around our houses and removed all of the pictures and videos with Daniel in them and brought them up here. They've been in this room ever since."

"But wouldn't the people who went to the funeral, remember him? Did you obliviate their memories too?" Lily questioned. Remus shook her head.

"Didn't have to. Excluding James and his parents, there were only about ten people who went to the funeral because only a handful of people even knew my parents had kids. They preferred to keep their private life, including me and my brother, just that. Private. And they're still the same way today. They kept the funeral a secret and they didn't take out an ad in the obituary section of _The_ _Daily Prophet._ The people who went to the funeral were mostly family who we don't ever talk to, and the ones who we do have contact with have figured that since they never talk about him, and there are no pictures of him around the house that they've repressed his memory and they never bring him up. Ever. So we didn't have to erase their memories." James pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

"But if we only erased our parents' memories, why do_ I_ have no memory of him?" Dani sighed and looked at her best friend, tears in her eyes.

"Because I erased yours as well."

"_**Well, I think that's the last of 'em." James said dropping a video into the crate with the others. "Wow. I didn't know there were so many pictures of Dan. What do you think Dani? Dani?" James looked behind him to see the girl in question standing at the dresser and holding a picture of her and Dan standing back to back and smirking at the camera. James walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Are you gonna be okay?" He asked her quietly. Dani bit her lip and looked over her shoulder at James, and nodded. **_

"_**I'll be okay." She said. Dani turned in his arms and hugged him tightly. "Thank you." She whispered in James' ear. "For everything." She pulled back and looked deeply into the boy's brown eyes that mirrored her own. "I couldn't have done any of this without you." James gave her a small smile. **_

"_**It's okay. I miss him too." The two stood there in silence, staring at each other before James let out a yawn. "Well, I'm tired. We need to get some sleep. We have an early day tomorrow and we need to find out whether or not the spell worked." Dani nodded in agreement before letting go of James and the two left the room. Dani sat on her bed and watched James open her bedroom window. Just as he was about to climb out he looked at her one last time and she sent him a small wave. James smiled before steeping out onto the tree limb and climbing out of Dani's room. When his entire body was out the window, Dani let her small drop and fell back on her bed. She stared at her ceiling for a few minutes before sitting up and exiting her room. **_

_**She softly walked down the hall and peeked into her parents' bedroom. They were still asleep, completely unaware of what their daughter and best friend had done. She tip-toped into the room and crept over to her mother's side of the bed. She opened the bedside drawer and slowly opened it, pulling out her mother's wand. Dani felt a tear fall down her face as she thought about what she was about to do. **_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Dani climbed across the tree limbs that separated her bedroom window from James'. It was middle of summer in July, so the boyfriend's bedroom window had been left open in order to let a breeze circulate through the room. Dani quietly landed in James' room, and looked around for the boy in question. She saw him sound asleep in his bed, still wearing his funeral clothes from earlier that day. She walked over until she was standing next to him. He was lying on his back, his mouth wide open as he snored. Dani chuckled and playfully rolled her eyes as she softly ran a hand through his hair. She pulled his glasses off of his face and gently set them on his bedside table. Dani leaned down and softly kissed his forehead. When she stood back up, she pulled her mother's wand out of her boot and pointed it at James' sleeping form. "I love you James," She whispered in fear of waking him. "And I don't wanna see you so upset over losing Dan. I'm sorry." Dani closed her eyes as tears ran down her face and focused hard on an image of her brother. **_

"_**Obliviate." She said and opened her eyes as she watched a gray mist appear from the wand and envelop James' head. It swirled around him for a few seconds, before sinking into him. When the mist cleared, James breathed deeply and Dani hung her head. There was still one more thing she had to do. **_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Dani climbed back into her room and walked over to the door connecting her room with Dan's. She took a look around the blue room, storing everything into memory one last time before shutting the door. She then stepped back and did a spell she had watched her mother and father do numerous times. She aimed the wand at the door and traced the edges while performing a permanent sticking charm. The edges of the door glowed gold and when she was done they remained gold for a few seconds before returning to their regular color. **_

"_**Goodbye Dan. Goodbye." **_

"You erased my memory of him? Why?" James asked.

"I didn't want you to hurt anymore. So I erased your memory too." Dani, who had been looking at the floor as she spoke, glanced up at James. "Do you hate me?" James sighed and got up from his position and crawled over to kneel in front of Dani.

"No. I don't hate you. Do I think you're crazy as hell for keeping all of this a secret for so long? Yes. I do. But I could never hate you." The two hugged. And when they separated the other Marauders as well as Dani hugged as well. When everyone had had a turn, Peter glanced at her.

"So what happens now?"


	20. James and Lily Have a Few Talks

**WHOOP WHOOP! UPDATE! :D ENJOY! :D**

"Potter?" James' head snapped at the sound of his last name. He looked towards the doorway of his bedroom to see Lily standing there, with her arms crossed, looking uncomfortable and unsure of whether or not to remain in the hall or enter the bedroom. "Why are you staring at the wall?" She asked. James furrowed his eyebrows at her question and turned back to look at the blank wall he had been absently staring at. He shook his head.

"No reason. Just thinking."

"About Dani?" James turned back to look at Lily to see that she had moved from the doorway and was standing a few feet from his bed. It had been days since Dani's big confession and since then she had locked herself in her room, only leaving for meals and leaving more than half the food on her plate when she was done. She had even blocked off the fireplace in her room and bolted her window stopping anyone from flooing or climbing in. While both of these entrances could easily have been opened by magic, no one, not even Sirius, wanted to do anything that might have upset her. Her parents could sense that there was something wrong with their daughter but being unable to tell what, they had questioned all five of her friends and they had been given the same answer, in five different ways:

"No, I don't know what's wrong with her."

"I think she's just stressed."

"She misses being able to use magic all the time."

"It's her time of the month. I'm sure that's what it is."

"There's something wrong with Dani?"

Although her parents didn't believe anything they said, (especially Sirius' answer of it being her time of the month) they had nothing else to go on and out of fear of making the situation worse and having her not leave her room at all, they dropped it, hoping she'd come to them or to one of her friends.

"I've been thinking about her a lot lately too." Lily said bringing James' attention away from his thoughts and back to the present. James nodded and removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes before putting them back on.

"Yeah, it's just…unbelievable, ya know? It's not unbelievable that it happened, but it's-"

"The fact that she kept it all to herself for this long?" Lily finished. James nodded. "I know. Usually she's known for not being able to keep quiet for more than six minutes and she kept this a secret for six _years_? It's…completely mind-blowing." James scoffed and crossed his arms.

"You're telling me." Lily smiled at his comment and rocked back and forth as she stared at the seated brunette boy.

"She's really something isn't she?" Lily asked lightheartedly. James laughed for the first time in hours and stood from his bed, moving until he was standing in front of the red-head girl.

"Oh she's…she's something alright. I'm not always sure it's a good something though." Lily chuckled and nodded.

"I know what you mean. One time in First Year, I woke up in the middle of the night to see her kneeling beside my bed with a lit candle. She said she was trying to see whether fire or my hair was a brighter shade of red." James rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"That's not as bad as when she tried to light Sirius _on _fire." Lily's eyes widened in shock and she snorted humorously.

"When was this?"

"May of First Year. It was her retaliation for when he dyed her hair green."

"Her response to him dying her hair was to burn him? Isn't that a little extreme?" James arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Isn't everything Dani does extreme?" He asked. "She's not exactly subtle. About anything. Ever. Don't you remember Third Year?"

"With Jay Crenshaw from Hufflepuff?" Lily asked. James nodded and Lily threw her head back and laughed deeply at the memory, her laugh effectively warming the taller boy from his head down to his toes. "Yes! How could I forget? She made him dump his girlfriend Sarah so he could date her, just to end up dumping him ten minutes later to get back at him for cheating on-"

"Sandra with Sarah." James finished with her. Both smiled widely as they thought about all the adventures that their mutual best friend had put them through and all of the memories and experiences they had acquired over the years. Lily looked at the ground as she thought and James kept his eyes on her.

"She really is one of a kind." Lily said. James nodded, uncrossing his arms and moved them to place his hands in his back pockets.

"The six of us are. I think that's why we work well together." Lily bit her lip as she thought this over. James watched as a small smirk worked its way onto her face and it made him smile.

"What?" James asked. Lily looked up at his question.

"Huh?" She asked. James hit her playfully on her shoulder and stepped closer.

"What are you smirking at?" He asked. Lily shook her head.

"I just realized something."

"Okay. And that something is what?"

"This is the first civilized conversation we've had-just the two of us-since that incident Second Year. I mean we've talked calmly before, but Dani or the guys or a professor or someone else has always been with us. It hasn't been just you and me for…four years." James' eyes widened realizing that her statement was true.

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked. Lily furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head.

"No, it's not a bad thing. I just noticed is all. This was actually kinda…nice." James grinned and nodded.

"It was. We should do it more often."

"I'd really like that, James." James blushed at the use of his first name and ran a hand through his hair. "You know, you're not that bad when you're not hitting on me. Maybe you should do _that_ more often." James chuckled and nodded.

"Duly noted. So, uh was there something you wanted? Or did you just come over for a chat?" Lily gasped as if remembering something important.

"Oh yeah. I came up here to tell you that everyone's ready to go. Well everyone except Dani. I still have to get her." James nodded remembering the date. It was the morning of the day they were scheduled to return to Hogwarts, with school restarting the following morning.

"Okay. I'll be downstairs in about five minutes." Lily nodded and moved to exit the room. "Lily?" James called. Lily stopped at his door and turned back to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"I meant what I said. We should talk more." Lily smiled at his comment.

"And I meant what I said." She replied back. "I'd really like that." Without another word Lily left, effectively missing the ginormous grin that appeared on James' face. He moved to his closet and pulled out his trunk, quickly throwing the clothes that had been strewn around the room into it. His thoughts were so preoccupied with Lily and the events that had just transpired (plus the fact that she had just been in his room! Come on now. He was a nice guy and all but he was still an overly hormonal teenage boy with a very active and _vivid _imagination) that he hadn't noticed the girl watching from across the tree who was smiling the whole time.

* * *

"I'm so selfish. You just lost your parents and _I'm _the one who's been moping around."

"That's not fair! You lost someone too."

"Yeah, _six _years ago, Lily! I'm a horrible friend!" Lily rolled her eyes at her friend's exclamation. The six of them were currently on the train headed back towards Hogwarts, except this time instead of being alone on the train; they were on board with all the other returning Hogwarts students as well. After pulling out of the station, Dani had grown less tense and was loosening up and becoming her old self. By the time they were halfway back to school she had seemed completely normal. Both she and Lily were currently standing in the bathroom checking their faces in the giant mirrors.

"Dani, you're not a horrible friend. You're the best friend I've ever had and I completely understand your pain and I don't blame you for your attitude. Besides, I was talking to James about it and all of your craziness over the past couple of years has been a great source of amusement for the rest of us." Dani stuck her tongue out at the redhead but smiled all the same.

"So you aren't mad at me?"

"No, I'm not. Besides you're practically my sister now and you can't hate family. Regardless of what Petunia says." She added when she saw Dani about to argue. Dani grinned and hugged Lily eagerly, the other Gryffindor hugging just as enthusiastically back. When they broke apart, they once again turned back to their reflections.

"So," Dani started. "You were talking to James?" She said with slight amusement in her voice. "This coming from the person who has been hell-bent on the fact that he's a horrible person since second year?" Lily didn't meet her eyes.

"I'm only being civil to him because of that stupid treaty you made me sign." She said with a straight face. Dani shook her head.

"You're a horrid liar, Lily." Lily rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"Fine. He's not _that_ bad. Talking to him today, brought back memories how nice he used to be. You know. Before his life revolved around girls and sex." Dani smiled as she looked at the girl beside her.

"I've told you over and over again that there's more than to him than that."

"I know. And I think I might be starting to believe it."

* * *

"Psst! James! Psst!" James glanced behind him to see Dani pointing at his feet. He looked down to see a slip of folded parchment lying directly in front of his right shoe. It was the day after they had returned and the gang was sitting in charms, "deliberately" taking notes, meaning only Remus and Lily were actually writing things down while the other four did not. James discretely bent down and picked up the paper, taking precaution to open it out of the view of professor Binns.

_**Prongs! All systems are a go on our plan! –D.C.**_

_What are you talking about? –J.P._

_**Don't play dumb! I saw the talk you had with you know who. –D.C.**_

_It was only a talk. –J.P._

_**Which is more than you had before! –D.C.**_

…_This is very true… –J.P_

_**...Besides. I talked to them myself and they seem to warming up. -D.C.**_

_-Are you kidding me? Dani, you better not be lying to me or I swear to god, I will tell Slughorn it was you who broke his hand painted ceramic turtle! – J.P._

You'd tell Slughorn about the turtle incident? That's a pretty big threat, James. What are you guys talking about? –S.B.

_**Sirius! This is a private conversation between James and me! Leave! –D.C.**_

But I wanna know what's going on! Prongs, who did you talk to? And what plan are you two discussing? –S.B.

_Why don't you do your work? –J.P._

You guys aren't working so why should I? –S.B.

_**Because we're discussing something important. –D.C.**_

_And we're not gonna tell you, because you don't need to know. –J.P. _

…But I WANT to know… -S.B.

-I wanna know too! –P.P.

_**No! We are not telling either of you so stop asking! –D.C.**_

Best friends aren't supposed to keep secrets from other best friends... –S.B.

_They are when certain best friends aren't aware how to keep a secret. –J.P._

Fine. Peter and I will just have our own secret then! –S.B.

Yeah! And we won't tell you guys what it is!-P.P.

_**Fine. Do it. See if we care. :p –D.C. **_

**Are you guys completely unable of paying attention during this class? –R.L.**

…Yes. –S.B.

…I pay attention sometimes… -P.P.

_**Honestly? I hate this class with the passion and heat of a thousand burning suns. –D.C.**_

_Eeh. It could be worse. –J.P._

_Aww, lay off them Remus. Besides, Binns already taught us all this before break and I know he did because I have all the notes. He's repeating his lessons and I don't even think he's aware. –L.E._

**Are you…Lily Evans…actually saying that the fact that they aren't paying attention in class is a good thing? –R.L. **

_No, that is not what I'm saying. What I am saying is that since we have already learned exactly what he is teaching, and there's no point in hearing something you already know. –L.E._

Evans, I don't think I have ever been more attracted to you than I am right now. –S.B.

_Um…ew? –L.E._

_**Wait a minute! This note was previously mine and James'! Who invited the rest of you? –D.C. **_

You can't pass a note to James and expect me not to read it! –S.B.

This is true. That should have been completely expected, Dani. –P.P.

_**-_-…I am not amused….-D.C.**_

**Yeah, well McGonagall's not gonna be amused either if she walks in and sees us not paying attention…again. –R.L.**

_Don't you mean as usual? -L.E._

_Don't even try that Evans because your name is written all over this one. If we go down, we're taking you with us. –J.P. _

_:P –L.E. _

Grow up, you two. And Remus is right. Besides, bell's gonna ring soon and we should start packing up. –S.B.

_You're right. –L.E._

I guess. –P.P.

_**Killjoy. –D.C.**_

…**ouch… -R.L.**

_Whatever. –J.P._

That doesn't however mean that the original conversation is over, Prongs and Fireyes. I still wanna know this big secret… -S.B.

_Well that's too bad because you'll never know. –J.P. _

We shall see, mate. We…shall...see... -S.B.

* * *

"Lily we are so sorry!" Lily rolled her eyes for what must have been the eightieth time that day. It had been five days since school had started again and she had heard what she was certain were all the possible variations of "sorry" from more than half of the school. Even a few Slytherins had sent her a sympathetic look before following it up with their usual sneer. She appreciated the kind words and understood that they all meant well, but the constant reminder of her unfortunate situation only succeeded in heightening her sensitivity to it. After enduring almost a week of numerous stares, the redhead finally couldn't take it anymore. She angrily got up from her seat on a Gryffindor Common Room couch and shut her Transfiguration book before walking towards the portrait hole. Dani, who had been sitting on the floor in front of her, looked up as her friend moved to leave.

"Where are you going?" She called after her. Lily shrugged as an answer. "Do you want me-"

"No, I don't want you to come with me. I'm a big girl, Dani. I can handle myself."

"Okay." Dani said, a little let down. "I'll be here when you get back." Lily nodded and waved before the Fat Lady shut behind her. When she was out in the corridor, she leaned against the wall and sighed deeply. As much as she loved Dani, her best friend had gotten overly clingy and protective of her since their return to Hogwarts, not letting the girl out of her sight for more than two hours time. Lily appreciated that Dani didn't want her to be alone in her time of need, but she was suffocating her and Lily just needed her space.

She hadn't given much thought to what she was going to do after she left, having only been interested in being alone. Lily tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and sighed before she started walking, clutching her book transfiguration book to her chest. The halls were mostly empty due to the majority of the student body being at dinner, and she reveled in the sound of her footsteps on the tile floor. She continued walking without a real sense of where she was going. After mindless wandering, she looked up to realize that she had strayed to the stairs that lead to the Owlery. She smiled and quickly went up the stairs; looking forward to what would be a completely deserted area, save for the calm and gentle creatures that the school relied on for post transportation.

When she finally reached the Owlery, she breathed a sigh of relief at being greeted with the familiar and soft cooing of the multicolored birds. She walked along the rows of owls, looking for one in particular and her face lit up when she found it. Over the years, she had grown fond of a tawny owl with deep set black eyes that she had held numerous contests with, herself usually losing to the creature. The owl was tiny enough to fit in the palms of both of her hands, even when she was one of the smallest first years. She had affectionately named the bird August, the color's of his feathers reminding her of fall.

She gingerly approached the bird, holding out both of her hands. August flew down from his shelf and landed gracefully into her hands and she let out a small laugh as he looked up at her expectantly. She slowly sat down on a clean spot of the Owlery and stared at the bird. He continued to stare at her as if waiting for her to say something and after she was silent for a little while, he angrily pecked at her wrist. Lily sighed before placing the bird on the floor in front of her and gently stroking its feathers. August continued to stare at her as she reveled in absence of her classmates.

"I'm assuming you've heard the news?" She finally asked the small bird. He cooed in response. "Well if you haven't, my parents are dead. That's right, August. I'm an orphan." Lily laughed without humor as she watched the sun set over the Hogwarts Grounds as she continued petting the tawny owl. "Well not completely. I mean, Dani and her folks have always been like a second family to me and they've been overly generous to take me in and I really do appreciate everything they've done for me but…it's just not the same, ya know? They will now and forever be Waken and Miranda. They will never be _mum _and _dad_."

Lily sighed at her own realization, saying for the first time what she had been feeling for a while. "But you wanna know the worst part?" She asked, looking back down at the bird. He tilted his head to the side and hooted, as if telling her to continue, which caused her to smile. "It's the fact that there are things that I never got to ask them and now I'll never know the answers to like, how did they pick Lily as my name and how they met and…and…just so many other things that'll I've never get to know." She was silent as she thought over her next words. "I've lost the two people who I am bits and pieces of and now I feel like I'll never know which pieces and influences came from them and which pieces and influences are completely my own. It's as if I don't know who I am anymore." Lily ended her speech and stared at the bird, who appeared to be giving her what she interpreted was a sympathetic look. She was going to say something else, when the sound of a twig snapping behind her had her quickly turning around into a defense stance and whipping out her wand without a second thought.

"Don't attack! It's just me!" Lily rolled her eyes in relief and embarrassment at the realization that the intruder was none other than James Potter. She tucked her wand back into her robes and gasped at the hard peck on her ankle. She glanced down to see August giving her what she assumed was his version of a glare. She noticed that in her haste to protect herself, she had kicked the owl without realizing it. She muttered a quick apology to it before resuming her old position on the floor. Both Lily and James were silent, the only sounds in the Owlery being the creatures themselves.

"How long were you standing there?" Lily finally asked, not looking at the brunette boy.

"I came up to deliver a letter to my parents." James admitted. "I didn't realize you were here and I was on my way out when you started talking and…well…after that I couldn't bring myself to leave." Even though her back was facing him, Lily could tell that he was blushing and running his hand through the back of his hair. "I'm sorry, Evans." Lily sighed and nodded, once again starting to stroke August, he bird twittering in appreciation.

"Well don't just stand there awkwardly. You might as well sit down." Lily said, patting the spot beside her. There was a moment of hesitation before she heard James' footsteps growing closer until they stopped beside her, and the tall teen dropped onto the ground. The two Gryffindors were quiet as they watched the sky darken as night grew close.

"Well, look on the bright side." James finally said. Lily turned her attention to him and arched an eyebrow.

"And what would that be."

"This time last week, you could barely think about your parents without becoming overwhelmed by your emotions. And look at you now. You were able to say all that without even shedding a single tear." Lily's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"So what does that mean? I'm slowly becoming unable to feel?" James smiled and shook his head as he held his hand out to August, who quickly fluttered into it. The male Gryffindor grinned and gently scratched the bird's head.

"No. It means you're healing and getting better, which is completely natural and a good thing." Lily nodded but didn't say anything, choosing to turn her attention back to August who was looking back and forth between James and Lily. "Plus the way I see it, just because you know about your parents doesn't mean anything. Look at Sirius for example. He knows way more about his parents than he ever wants to, and he hates them for it. In order to know yourself, you have to find yourself. Your parents have nothing to do with it." Lily pondered this for a moment, as she watched James interact with the tiny bird. She fought back a smile as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"That actually…makes a lot of sense." She said. "When did goofball James Potter become so smart?" James blushed before shrugging nonchalantly.

"It comes and goes in waves." Lily giggled at the comment before she glanced down at her watch and gasped in shock. She had been in the Owlery for almost two hours and she mentioned this to James who nodded and stood up.

"Well dinner's almost over, and I say we should head down before it's all gone and we're forced to sneak into the kitchens." Lily scoffed.

"You say that like you weren't planning on doing it anyway." James grinned and held out his hand. Lily gratefully took it and he helped her to her feet. When they were both standing, James slowly released her hand before walking over to one of the shelves and carefully setting the bird on it. When he was done, he turned back to face the redhead. He sent her a small smile that she returned before beginning to walk towards the exit, stopping a few feet shy of it.

"James?" She asked turning around to face the boy behind her. "Thanks for talking to me." James blinked in surprise but shrugged all the same.

"Seems like we've been doing a lot of that lately." James said. Lily nodded an agreement before playfully crossing her arms and arching an eyebrow.

"Should I be expecting this to continue?" James grinned and laughed.

"Just as much as you expect Dani to cheat off of you in Potions."

**YAY! I hope you guys enjoyed it! REVIEW PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE! :D**

**Peace, Luv & Hairgrease!**

**HP4EverLuver**


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